Princess Dorothy Of Oz
by Clayton Overstreet
Summary: When visiting dignitaries froma nother magical kingdom descend on Oz they are of course happily welcomed by the denizens, despite their rude and overbearing ways. But soon the visit is revealed as an evil plot, leading everyone's favorite girl from Kansas ona dangerous journey far from the safety of Oz. Will she ever find her way home? Click your heels and find out.


I don't own these characters or profit from them.

Princess Dorothy of Oz

By, Clayton Overstreet

Table of Contents

000

Dorothy Gale woke up in her own bed, which was as soft as a cloud and big enough for a dozen people to sleep on. Dreams of her life back in Kansas passed quickly into forgetfulness, as dreams of long ago times do. She had been sleeping in that bed for over a hundred years now. Which would surprise anyone who saw her since Dorothy looked like a seventeen year old girl. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and perfect skin.

She rolled out of bed and examined herself in the half-circle of full length mirrors in one corner of her huge room. Her skin and her white silk night shirt looked a bit green, but that was because of the light reflecting from the huge emeralds embedded in the stone walls of the castle. Dorothy was beautiful, even if she had freckles and a noticable gap in her two front teeth. The fairies of Oz were all so perfect that such small imperfections made her more exotic, whereas back in Kansas she had often been teased.

As she did every morning she paused for a moment to look up at the large portrait of her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. They wore fancy clothes, the type popular in Oz high society and closely resembling those worn by humans in the middle ages. They looked very happy and a bit uncomfortable in their finery, with an air of confusion. Dorothy felt a pain in her heart as she missed them.

Em and Henry had left twenty years before. Since Oz was a fairy land the denizens were only as old as they felt. In fact most of them were capable of changing into any form they wanted, but like a muscle that was not used too often they tended to get stuck in one form and forget how to change. Few were even taught how to do it anymore. The old Kansas couple had never truly adjusted to life in Oz. Dorothy had been travelling back and forth to the magical land for six years since she was eleven before the loss of the family farm had finally convinced her to make the move permanent and bring her family with her.

But one day her Aunt and Uncle had said they felt too old and were too tired. They had come to immortality too late in life and were too set in their ways to use magic to fix things. So finally they had done what all the citizens of Oz did when life became too long and too hard to keep going. They asked to be taken to the forbidden fountain, which had the power to erase the memories of anyone who drank from it. Their minds were wiped, Queen Ozma turned them into babies, and they were adopted out to a family in the country.

In reality that same water had been what Dorothy had used on the Witch of the West, who kept some in her own castle. Despite the stories the witch had not been melted by it, and was being raised by a nice couple in the countryside. The only witch who actually died was the one from the east and Dorothy had not intentionally landed her house on the woman. And in truth death in the world of fairies was never that cut and dry. If something died they became something else, completely at random. It may be an animal, another person, or even a river. It was just a lot more painful than the fountain.

Dorothy had been advised not to ask too many questions about such primal magic. Few knew how it worked and most did not care. Fairyland bordered many of the sunset lands, such as Heaven, Hell, Elysium, and Aaru. Sould who grew too old and jaded could go there, should they feel the need and new ones came from other worlds all the time. It was mysterious and complicated, as many things were.

The people of Oz were all good and peaceful these days and her family would neither remember her or even look like the people she knew. It was tempting to go out and see how her relatives were getting on, even if the did not remember her, but she feared the blank looks in their eyes if they saw her. She could not stand that from her aunt and uncle, whatever their form.

Finally she looked away and reached for a small silver bell that sat on a small table. She rang it and a group of maids entered the room. Without a word they stripped her clothes and began dressing her in one of a thousand beautiful dresses. Dorothy trusted their decisions on what looked good. People told her that as Oz's princess she should know about fashion, but she had refused to learn. At least in part she insisted on being the girl from Kansas who had arrived in Oz such a long time before.

As she stared off into space she let her eyes wander and she smiled when she noticed her book case. The entire collection of Oz books was there, behind glass. The original books, from _The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_ to _The Emerald City of Oz_ were the only ones based on Dorothy's own accounts, though Mr. Baum had altered it to be more kid friendly. For example despite the years between her visits to Oz in the books she was always a very young girl. When Dorothy had left he and others had continued writing the books and on Dorothy's request Ozma had used magic to aquire copies. Dorothy and the others in the castle found them entertaining, though everyone hated the movies based on them, having seen them on Ozma's magic viewing tapestry.

Dorothy sat down as the maids began brushing her hair and wrinkled her nose at the memory of those films. The original movie had been a way for the movie makers to experiment with technicolor and had completely twisted the story. Glinda had come across as a homicidal psychopath with a grudge against Dorothy and you could almost feel sorry for the witch in the film, where as in real life the Witch of the West had not been the least bit upset about her sister's death. They even managed to get the color of her magic shoes wrong, turning them from silver to ruby. And nearly every movie and most of the books that had Oz in them had been based on that movie, rather than the original books.

The maids finished and Dorothy looked at herself again. Now she looked less like a still sleepy young woman and more like the princess of a magical kingdom. She refused to wear red of any kind so today the girls had dressed her in a green dress with yellow fringe wrapped in a purple bow. The people of Oz loved loud colors. The different ares of Oz were actually color coded, people of varying sections of the kingdom dressing in their own local color.

"Thank y'all very much," Dorothy said, putting a small emerald tiara on her own head. She could have taken one of the magic pills available at the university that contained complete knowledge on any subject and learned how to speak in a more proper fashion, but Dorothy prefered to learn words on her own and all of her friends enjoyed her accent. "Ya done a marvelous job."

"You are quite welcome Princess Dorothy," they courused and then turned and left.

Since they were immortal the people of Oz only did jobs for two reasons: to keep themselves busy and to be useful. Oz was located in the middle of a gigantic desert and hidden by magic spells. The people of Oz liked it that way because many of the creatures that lived in the fairy world were dangeous and magical, and some of thye worlds that bordered it were worse. The most dangeous things in the land of Oz were some of the animals, who were not as problem as long as you stayed out of the deeper forests. In Oz aside from Ozma, the queen, the only two people allowed to even use magic were the witches of the north and south, two of the four witches who had ruled Oz before Ozma was found. The Wizard of Oz as a former ruler too had been given special exemption, but he had gone to the fountain even before Dorothy's aunt and uncle.

The rule existed mostly because Ozma, who had always been the perenial ruler of Oz, had been kidnapped as a baby the last time she had drunk from the fountain. The evil witch who had taken her had changed Ozma into a boy and raised her as a veritable slave until she had eventually made a friend (literally) and the two of them had run away. After many adventures, including averting an all woman revolution, Ozma's true identity was revealed and she had taken up her rightful place as the ruler of Oz, which had been temporarily filled by Dorothy's old friend the Scarecrow after they revealed the Wizard's fraud. The Scarecrow had been only too happy to abdicate to her and he had taken the old witch's castle to the west as his own while the tin man Nick Chopper had taken up residence in the east.

Dorothy had been on her own adventure, once again visiting fairy land from Kansas, when she met Ozma. Dorothy had been kidnapped by a princess of Ev across the desert who had wanted to take Dorothy's head as her own. It was complicated, but in the end Ozma had been passing by and managed to rescue her. Ozma had heard stories of Dorothy, the girl who had saved her kingdom from two wicked witches and more. In fact the people of Oz only waited so long in hiding their kingdom completely from the outside world because they wanted Dorothy to agree to stay and be Ozma's princess.

The wait had led to several dangeous encounters with foreign fairies and monsters, most notably the Gnome King. Dorothy and Ozma had taken care of those skirmishes and with Glinda's help had made all of Oz completely invisible from the outside world. From that day on aside from a few minor problems that happened in the course of living the land of Oz had been at peace for a century, undisturbed by the dangers of the outside world.

Which was why Dorothy was very surprised when she received word that the Emerald City had visitors.

Dorothy entered the palace gardensand found Ozma sitting at a small table and looking out over the gardens. She always wore green dressed, just as lovely as Dorothy's. Being a fairy like most of the citizens of Oz and not a human like Dorothy, Ozma's form was perfect. Her skin was flawless and perfectly unnaturally beautiful. She had long dark hair and a natural greenish tinge to her skin. Shadows fell differently on her and the closest thing Dorothy could compare her strangeness to would have been a computer generated image in a movie. Pretty, but slightly off normal and not quite human.

Ozma was sipping tea, but when she saw Dorothy walking towards her she put the cup down and stood up, a huge grin splitting her face. Dorothy came forward and bent down since Ozma was a foot and a half shorter than her. The two clasped hands and moved in to share a long kiss.

Dorothy felt her stomach flutter and when they parted she was grinning and unable to stop. Even after all their years together the two were still in love as if it had only just started. One of the perks of immortality was that the years did not weight them down as it might have back in Kansas.

"Good morning my dear," Ozma said.

Dorothy nodded. "Always is when I see you, Ozma. Far as I'm concerned the sun don't shine proper until I see you in the mornings."

Ozma blushed, her skin turning a deeper green. "I know what you mean."

Dorothy knew that her aunt and uncle had never truly approved of her relationship with Ozma. Not surprising since they had grown up in the late eighteen hundreds in Kansas. But when Dorothy had first told them about her feelings for other girls, she had been told off and Em had even slapped her, warning her to never speak of such an unnatural thing again. She had first developed a crush on a tiny china princess durring her first trip. And years later when she had hesitantly told them about meeting Ozma she had not mentioned her feelings for the young queen. They had not truly believed that Oz existed, despite Em's stories of fairies from her childhood and Dorothy's long otherwise unexplained absenses.

When they had been brought to Oz suddenly by magic and found that Dorothy was now Ozma's princess and seen the two of them holding hands, walking in the garden, and kissing in intimate moments, it had been too late. They had been overwhelmed by the newness of the magical world and had never found the time to officially disapprove. Especially since not only was Ozma forthright and firm, but had spent most of her life as a boy. They had been understanding about how complicated that could make things. In addition the relationship was not only accepted but celebrated by all of the people and animals of Oz, many of whom either did not care about such things or had lived long enough that two girls being in love was nowhere near the strangest relationship Oz had ever seen.

Ozma for her part had developed a crush on Dorothy even before they met. Even before she became the ruler of Oz. Everyone had heard about the girl from Kansas and all the wonderful things she had done. When they met in real life Ozma had fallen for her immediately, finding Dorothy as brave and beautiful as the stories said. Dorothy knew that, while she dressed the part, Ozma secretly reguarded herself as a boy in certain respects and could not find other men attractive. They had met when Dorothy was young and had barely spent any time off the farm to meet anyone else, plus Ozma was not only gorgeous but had saved Dorothy's life. So it was hardly surprising that the two would fall in love.

Ozma pulled out a chair for Dorothy to sit down and then took her own seat. They quietly shared a small breakfast of Ozian delicacies and apple tarts, a recipe that Ozma had learned from Dorothy's aunt.

"We have a visitor arriving today," Ozma said levelly.

"Oh? Is Nick coming to visit again? Or perhapse the Scarecrow?"

Ozma's eyes twinkled with delight. "Neither. This visitor is from outside of Oz."

"Outside?" Dorothy almost dropped her tart, but years of experience let her catch it. "But I thought Oz was hidden. Did someone arrive by accident? Another baloon blown off course?"

"No. A messenger was sent ahead late last night, a small white rabbit in a red waist coat. He informed me that the Queen of Hearts from Wonderland had come to ask for an audience with us. They should arrive by noon today."

"But how did she even get here?"

"I do not know. When we meet it will be one of the first things I will ask."

Dorothy bit her lip. "I ain't exactly sure how I'm supposed to talk to a queen."

Ozma raised an eyebrow. "And what am I?"

"You know what I mean," Dorothy said. "You're different." She reached out and took Ozma's hand in a tight grip. "Since I been here you made me a princess so everyone's nice even when I make mistakes. But I don't rightly know how to talk to royalty from other places. It's never really come up before now."

"Well don't worry. For a while before we met I did meet with a few of the other rulers. I talked that queen into releasing you, didn't I?" Ozma rubbed a thumb over Dorothy's fingers and smiled. "I'll handle everything. You just keep a close eye on things. Oz is separate from the rest of fairy land for a reason and I'll need you to keep an eye on things incase our visitors try anything."

Dorothy's lips tightened and she glanced at the ornate belt Ozma wore. It had belonged to the Gnome King and was powerful magic. Its former owner had nearly destroyed Oz. "Do you think they are dangerous?"

"Dorothy, all leaders in fairy are dangerous. You do not rule a magical land entirely by being nice and you do not keep others from taking your lands by being too friendly." She sighed. "As much as I despise violence, I think it is best to be prepared rather than regret trusting too much later."

Life in the clutches of an evil witch had amazingly not made Ozma evil herself, but had left her with a healthy skeptisism that Dorothy sometimes lacked. The Kansas girl had lived in relative safety on her home farm and even in Oz had not met too many dangerous and evil people. Not for very long anyway.

But Dorothy was naturally very cunning and had a terrific mind. In addition she had at least a century of life to hone her mind and had experiences from being human that many fairy creatures did not. Together the two women had never found a problem they could not solve together.

Oz did maintain an army. The people understood the need. Oz had a rich history and knew that unseen problems could pop up at any moment. There were many trained and experienced soldiers from warriors of fairy stock to intelligent talking animals. Magical defenses were handled by the two witches and Ozma had her own powers in addition to the magic belt, so any illegal spell in Oz was sure to fail.

The soldiers lined the courtroom where Ozma and Dorothy sat on their large emerald thrones holding hands. They waited as the Queen and her people approached. Most of them seemed to be living playing cards, a few animals, and some people including a small nervous looking man in a crown who had to be the king. Dorothy tried not to frown since the queen and all her people were dressed in red. The card guards held poleaxes with razor sharp heart-shaped blades. Everyone in the group wore dark sunglasses, something people approaching the Emerald City needed to keep from being blinded by the glare of the sunlight bouncing off of the emeralds.

The Queen herself was a tall woman with a large nose and curly red hair. She held herself stiff, nose up. When she did notice any of the guards standing around them she had a haughty look to her eye as if they were inconsequential. Dorothy took an immediate dislike to the woman. The Queen's face was pretty but had a pinched look that reminded her of the teacher at the old schoolhouse back home, a woman who delighted in telling children they were stupid if they received anything less than perfect marks and how it was all their fault for not knowing enough. Her aunt and uncle had let her stop going after the first time they met her and uncle Henry had homeschooled her from that point on.

The rabbit Ozma had mentioned before came forward, holding a trumpet. Dorothy had long before gotten used to talking animals and living inanimate objects. He blew a brief tune on the horn before announcing in a squeaky voice, "Her Majesty the Queen of Hearts and the King!" Dorothy noticed how the king was downplayed and did not seem to mind.

The Queen curtsied as she stopped a few feet from the two girls. "I bring you formal greetings your majesties." She suddenly elbowed the king hard in the ribs.

He bowed three times in quick succession. "Pleasure to meet you."

Ozma smiled and stood up. Dorothy did likewise and they both bowed. "It is a pleasure to meet you, your highness. I was surprised when I heard of our visit though. Our kingdom is usually ungraced by visitors such as yourself. How did you learn where we were?"

The Queen smiled and her husband cowered a little. "In Wonderland there are many things that can be learned that I dare say many others would not know."

"And why have you and your people come visiting our home?" Ozma asked. She sounded pleasant but there was a tone Dorothy recognized. Ozma did not care much for other powerful women who looked down on her, even if they tried to hide it. Maybe because she had been one's slave or maybe because she had been a boy raised in a culture that was much like medieval times in reguards to women up until Ozma became the ruler. The Queen of Hearts definitely had an attitude.

"I bring terrible news," she replied. "My kingdom had been stolen from me. Torn from my grasp by a…" She started to say something with disgust, but her eyes flickered to Dorothy and she schooled her expression. "A girl."

Ozma said, "How terrible."

"Indeed," the Queen replied. "You see Wonderland is not like other kingdoms. My people are scattered and a bit chaotic. I shared rule with two others, the red queen and the white queen, who were pieces of a living chess set. You see our kingdom is the source of a special type of magic stone which, when powdered and sprinkled on inanimate objects, can bring them to life."

"I am familiar with it," Ozma said. Many such creatures lived in Oz. Ozma's own tale had begun when as a boy she had gotten her hands on some.

"I am sure you are. On my way here I noticed many such beings in your land. I believe the powder may be blown on the wind from my country to yours." She shook her head. "But while I was not paying attention a girl named Alice began appearing and reappearing in my kingdom. I thought nothing of it at first, until I heard that the other queens had abdicated in the girl's favor. Then she led the people in a revolt against me and I was forced to flee with my few loyal retainers. After that she stole my kingdom and has been ruling most unfairly for a long time."

"Why would she do that?" Ozma asked.

The Queen's face hardened. "Jealousy obviously. She was jealous that my people loved me so and that I was so much more beautiful than her. She is only human after all."

Dorothy scanned the faces of the cards and men with her. Except for one man who looked to be a bit of a knave, none showed any emotion at all on their face when she said that. The knave just winked playfully. None of them did anything to confirm or deny the Queen's words. That was what caught Dorothy's attention. They obviously would not speak up against her, but in their silence they also did not support their "beloved" leader.

"The last hundred years have been horrible. I have tried to take my kingdom back, but I have too few followers and the outside world is so dangerous. I was lucky to find some kind people who agreed to take me in, but… there are only certain ways in and out of Wonderland and all are guarded."

"So why did you come to us, if you're so busy?" Dorothy asked.

The Queen's features twisted again, into rage and anger. And again it took only a moment for her to control it. "I require your aid. I recently spoke to members of the gnome kingdom who told me of this place. I come to you seeking aid to reclaim my kingdom." She curtsied and her retinue all bowed and dipped with her, making certain that none of them rose above her.

Ozma shook her head. "I can see that you are in dire need, but I am afraid my people can not assist you." Dorothy and she shared a look. Both agreed that the Queen's story did not smell quite right.

The Queen looked up. "But the powers you have… do you not own the Gnome King's magic belt?"

Ozma smiled. "I do, but I use it to protect my people and keep them from harm. Part of that is in not getting involved in the troubles of the outside world. Oz has been at peace for a hundred years. I can not embroil it in a war that we have no part in."

"It would not be so great a war," the Queen said. "I wish you to know that the people of Wonderland are of the stock known as the little folk. It takes special potions for us to become as large as the people you see here. Even such as you and the munchkins of Oz are as giants to my people. You can not turn me away. It took years to navigate the gnome's tunnels and find our way here."

Ozma said, "I have made my decision." She smiled and said, "You will have to find aid elsewhere. But in the meantime you are free to stay here at the castle for a time. Explore the gorunds and enjoy our gardens. The people of Oz are always kind and will get you whatever you require while you visit with us."

The Queen stood still while her people tried not to look at her. Small red spots appeared on her perfect white cheeks. Dorothy wondered how the strangeness that made Ozma so beautiful could, on this woman, send a cold chill down her back. The munchkins were inhuman in a friendly way, less dangeous like kittens or puppies. The Queen of Hearts on the other hand was more like a hungry and angry coyote, prowling just out of reach of some chickens.

"Very well," The Queen said. She curtsied again and smiled brightly. At least her lips turned up and she showed her teeth. "It will be our honor to visit your kingdom for a while. We are in no hurry after all." Her people smiled on cue and made noises of agreement.

Ozma nodded and said, "Very well. Our official audience is at an end and you are all guests." She released Dorothy's hand. "Come with me your majesty and I will give you a tour while my people prepare rooms for you and yours." She gave Dorothy a small smile and Dorothy nodded as Ozma led the queen out.

The Oz soldiers continued to watch as the Queen's people wandered off. Dorothy caught the eye of the king and said, "Do you need anything your majesty?"

"No," he said. "I am here merely to escort my wife."

"She is a very… forthright woman, your majesty," Dorothy said.

He nodded. "Indeed. And there's no need to call me majesty or highness when she's not around. Call me Smee. Before I married the Queen I was nothing but a humble sailor."

Dorothy looked closer and realized that the man in front of her was a man. A human to be exact. He was as short as a munchkin and wearing red robes and gloves and his face was hidden by a large moustache so she had not noticed before. The Queen demanded a lot of attention As he spoke he also had a slight accent that got thicker as he talked.

"Well I know how that goes," Dorothy said. "My folks are from Kansas."

"Kansas?"

"It's in America."

"Oh the colonies then," Smee said.

Dorothy frowned. How long had this man been here? Still she could not hold that against him. He seemed nicer than the Queen anyway. "I'm sorry we could not be of more assistance in reclaiming your land."

"Not my land. My crew and our ship have spent longer than we can remember off the coast of a small island far past your desert. Her majesty showed up in need of help and we…" He smiled and shook his head. "Sorry to bore you."

"I ain't the least bit bored. My uncle and I once spent time at sea going out to Australia. It was one of my best adventures before I fell overboard and came back here again."

"Aye, well we're a working ship mind, with enemies of our own."

"Enemies?"

he shook his head. "Nothing for ye to worry about lass…" He swallowed and cleared up his voice so he sounded more refined again. "I mean your highness." He bowed. "I believe I'll be on my way now."

Dorothy watched him amble off. The Queen's people all seemed pretty formal. It was not something that Dorothy had to deal with much. Pretty much everyone in Oz was a friend to everyone else. They had no money or illness. Everyone was provided for with whatever they wanted and needed.

She felt a pang of sympathy for the Queen. When the bank had been forclosing on the farm it had been horrible for her aunt and uncle, knowing that everything they owned was about to be taken away. They had not really believed Dorothy when she said she could fix it all, but they had suggested that if she could go to Oz and live there then she should. They had expected to end up poor and destitute, just two old people thrown out of their homes, before Dorothy and Ozma had brought them to Oz. Imagine the pain of having a whole kingdom taken, losing people who depended on you, instead of a failing farm.

She went to follow Ozma and the Queen to the garden, hoping that maybe if she talked to the woman her initial dislike for her would fade as she got to know her. A Queen, she decided, should be allowed some leeway.

"These roses are white and blue," the Queen was saying to Ozma.

"Yes. The white ones are natural and the blue magical, gifts from the Witch of the North."

"I was once given white roses by mistake, when I specifically asked for red," the Queen said. "I caught some of my servants on instigation from that _girl_ trying to paint them red to make up for it. Ha! As if I would not notice. Stupid human brat! As if she could fool me. She even tried to claim she had nothing to do with it."

Ozma frowned at the way the Queen spoke about humans. So did Dorothy, who was walking quietly behind them, unnoticed for the moment.

Ozma tried to stay civil though. "What did you do?"

"I had them beheaded of course. You can't show any mercy with that sort of thing or they'll try to fool you all the time. And a deceitful servant is never worth keeping around."

Dorothy gasped and both queens turned to look at her. "You cut off their heads? Just for trying to paint some roses red to please you?"

The Queen sniffed. "Of course. Though I gave Alice a fair chance. We played a game of crockett, to decide her fate, but she cheated! Just as you would expect from…" She clamped her mouth shut.

Dorothy glared at her. "Well if you was going to start trying to chop my head off I'd do whatever I had to." She had much more to say, but Ozma came forward and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Dorothy, control yourself. The Queen is our guest. We can not judge how someone else rules their country, especially since we have never been there."

Dorothy could see over Ozma's head and saw the Queen of Hearts smirking nastily. She had seen that look on people when her old dog had startled them and Dorothy chastized him. She felt her anger rise up again, but Ozma's firm grip on her shoulder held her in check. Through gritted teeth Dorothy said, "I… apologize." She looked down at Ozma. "I'm going to head back to my room now Ozma. Before I say something I don't regret."

Ozma looked a little hurt. Usually the two of them found a romantic spot and would spend their afternoons together. But she could see that Dorothy was not in the mood and honestly she was not either. "Very well. I'll see you when you are feeling better."

"Yeah," Dorothy said. And she managed a small smile for her queen. "When we don't have as much to deal with." They shared a quick kiss and then Dorothy turned and walked away.

000

The Queen and her people had been in the castle two weeks. Dorothy was becoming very adept at avoiding them and she was not the only one. At breakfast one day when they usually had Ozma's special tarts they were suspiciously absent. Ozma claimed that she had just forgotten to make them, even though it was one of her favorite foods. Dorothy had accepted that until she head the cooks say, "I swear it was that knave of hearts. Walked in here bold as can be and stole Queen Ozma's tarts."

"That's nothing," one of the maids said. "That Queen threatens to have us all beheaded is there is so much as one little thing wrong. A wrinkle in her sheets and she slapped Lillian, calling her a lazy slut who wasn't fit to be a kitchen drudge."

There were many more complaints, though none made directly to Dorothy or Ozma. But the general feeling around the castle was that as soon as the Queen of Hearts left everyone would be much happier. Dorothy said as much to Ozma.

"I fear you are right," Ozma admitted. "But I am afraid that it is too late. I offered them courtesy as guests."

Dorothy understood. Fairy folk had to keep their given word and had manners down to a science. Dorothy could have kicked the Queen out or been as rude as she wanted, but then she, as one of Ozma's people, would be breaking Ozma's word by proxy. Since so much could be gained by magic among the fairies, your word was your bond and breaking it meant nobody would ever deal with you in anything again.

"I guess we just got to put up with them," Dorothy said. "But could you maybe ask them to be a bit more polite?"

"I don't think the Queen knows the meaning of the word," Ozma said. "Being polite usually means that you expect people to return the favor. In her case I doubt anyone who is rude to her once gets the chance to do it twice." Dorothy shuddered. It was no wonder the woman had been deposed. Ozma motioned for Dorothy to sit and when she did took a seat in her lap, putting her arms around Dorothy's neck. "I will tell the queen that we have other business to deal with and that we would like her to leave by the end of this week."

Dorothy breathed a sigh of relief and leaned her head on Ozma's shoulder. "Thank you."

Ozma smiled and kissed her hair. "Anything for you Dorothy." She took a breath, smelling Dorothy and holding her tight. "Come on, you can be there when I do it. Maybe she will do something to break the peace and we can have her thrown out by the palace guards."

Dorothy smiled. "If it comes to that I'm going to plant my foot on her butt on her way out the door."

Unfortunately the Queen had obviously been expecting the ultimatum and took it calmly. She promised that her people would be ready to leave at the required time and even thanked Ozma for her hospitality. Considering that she had complained about everything the servants did for her Dorothy felt the words seemed hollow, but counselled herself that the woman would be gone soon.

Dorothy had eased some of the castle denizens' feelings by telling them of the deadline and promising that they would be allowed to have a fantastic party when they were gone. Ozma could use her magic to make sure that none of them had to work all day and would even let them partake of the special tart recipe, since the knave had taken an unauthorized taste. Ozma like to keep them rare and special, as gifts to their friends and special treats to the servants. It was a small but obvious rebuke to the guests to deny them those treats and make no secret of it.

The night before they were to leave Dorothy was going through her collection of lingerie. She was planning a romantic night alone with Ozma and wanted everything to be perfect. Durring the Queen's stay something had always seemed to happen to put a damper on their more romantic feelings, but now that she was leaving Dorothy realized how much she missed her intimate moments alone with the girl. It had been too long and Dorothy wanted to make up for lost time as soon as possible.

Finally when she had everything prepared Doorthy crawled into her bed, unsure if she could even get to sleep. The people of Oz did not celebrate Christmas, but the feeling she had brouht back memories of when Dorothy was a child, waiting up to hear reindeer hooves on the roof. And just like then much to her amazement she did indeed manage to fall asleep.

Dorothy woke up to someone shaking her. Opening her eyes she saw the wide eyes of one of the castle maids. "What? What is it?"

"The Queen of Hearts… she's gone!" The maid gasped out. Clearlys he had been running and was out of breath.

Doorthy smiled. "I can see why you are excited."

"You don't understand! She's gone! They're all gone!" She seemed so upset Dorothy did not understand what was wrong.

"Isn't that what we wanted?"

The maid paused and shook her head. "Yes, but you don't understand. They left without telling anyone."

"Well they've been rude since they got here. Can't expect them to change now that they don't have to be putting up with us too."

"But Princess, they're gone and…" She took a deep breath. The maids had been holding back on bad news lately, to avoid problems with the Queen of Hearts. She finally seemed to remember who Dorothy was and said, "We can't find Queen Ozma."

Dorothy sat up in bed. "What?"

"We're still looking," the maid said. "That's why I came here, to see if she was with you. But when we found out the Queen was gone we went to tell her and so far nobody has been able to find her."

"Do you think the Queen would…?" Dorothy stopped herself. "Of course she would. Search everywhere and send out messages. See if you can track down the Queen and her people before she gets too far. See if Glinda can tell us anything." The maid nodded and hurried out.

Glinda the Witch of the South had a magic book that recorded literally everything that happened. Unfortunately she had to read it and only Ozma could contact her magically. Anyone else had to send a messager to talk to her or show up in person. Dorothy was not sure she wanted to go in person yet. Without Ozma's magic the trip was long, she knew from experience and she wanted to go looking for Ozma herself.

The maids came in the dress her automatically and she waved them off. "Forget the dresses today. I need a shirt and a pair of pants. I am not going ot just sit around on my butt while Ozma's missing." They nodded and went to work without question. Soon Dorothy found herself dressed in pants and a shirt and some good walking boots. Her hair was tied back in two long braids. When she was done she hurried out and asked the first person she saw rushing past, "Has anyone found anything yet?"

"No Princess," he told her. "There is no sign of them yet. We think they must have left the palace in the night and taken Ozma with them."

Dorothy cussed, making several claims about the Queen of Heart's ancestry, and looked out the window. "I thought we had guards watching them."

"Sorry your majesty, but I guess preparing for a fight for a hundred years and having one after all that time are two different things. With the way the Queen's been acting nobody wanted to spend too much time around her."

"Do you think she was doing it on purpose?"

"If she was I think it was just a perk, because that woman was extremely unpleasant. Do you have any other ideas?"

Dorothy tried to think. Finally she shook her head. "Nothing constructive." Mostly she was thinking about grabbing the Queen by her hair hard enough to pull it out by the roots and then jamming her face first into the Forbidden Fountain. If Ozma was hurt memory loss would be the least of the Queen's worries because Dorothy would not let her up again.

The man took a step back and Dorothy realized he had probably guessed what she was thinking. Fairies lacked that kind of violence in their being. They could be violent when angry, but it was a cold quick violence like that of the Queen. Off with their heads and call it a day. Other than that they might transform a person or curse them, but again once it was done they would never think about it again, mostly because it would be done to eliminate a problem, not out of revenge. For true violence and torture you needed a human perspective.

Dorothy patted him on the shoulder and he relaxed. "Go. Do what you can." He nodded and hurried off.

Soon everyone around the Emerald City knew that Ozma was kidnapped and were wildly searching, sending out the message to the surrounding areas as more and more of Oz's citizens joined the hunt. People searched fields, animals hunted the forests, and birds searched from the sky, spreading the news to all corners of the land.

It was not surprising when Glinda finally arrived. She was human, or had been long ago, but was also a witch and the most powerful one in Oz. She arrived in a clap of thunder in the middle of the throne room.

Dorothy ran up to her and threw her arms around the witch. "Glinda, I'm so glad you're here!"

Glinda smiled and said, "So I see. I know what has happened. Unfortunately my book that tells what happens only works in Oz and the surrounding desert."

"And I can't use Ozma's magical tapestry. It only works for the queen of Oz." Dorothy looked up at her. "What can we do?"

"Not much for now. The Queen of Hearts escaped last night through the Gnome King's tunnels."

"Oh no!"

"Never worry. She left in such a hurry that she left many of her people behind and was not the type to inform them of her plans. Even now my own army is searching the land and rounding them up. We will get Ozma back. I promise."

"What can I do to help?"

"You can stand strong. You are the Princess and the people need you to be there to reassure them."

Dorothy sighed. "I was afraid you would say something like that. I done been waiting here since it happened and it's driving me plum crazy." She stepped back and wrapped her arms around herself. "I need Ozma. She's my whole world."

Oz was a small land, an oasis in a tiny part of an uncrossable desert. Still it was several hundred miles across and much of it was thick forests filled with dangerous beasts. But even they gave up their search for food when they heard that Ozma was missing.

All too soon the Queen of Heart's abandoned people were captured. Mostly a few talking playing cards and animals. They were dragged to the palace by sundown and sat in the middle of the floor, bound together with strong ropes.

One of the cards straightened up and glared at the princess and witch. "We will never talk!"

A six of spades added, "And you can't hurt us."

Glinda said, "They are right. As living inanimate objects we can't actually cause them pain."

Dorothy nodded, well aware of this. Her friend the Scarecrow had been torn to pieces in the past. The Tin Woodsman only feared rusting, but had been nickle plated to eliminate that possibility. Ozma's friends Jack Pumpkinhead and the Saw Horse had both worn out eventually, having been made shodily from wood when she was experimenting with the powder of life, but they never complained about pain. Jack had even replaced his own head on regular occassions.

"Besides," the white rabbit said. His red vest was torn and his watch was gone, leaving only the chain hanging from his pocket. "We fear our queen so much more."

Glinda said, "I can use a potion of truth on them, but I will need to return to my castle to get the spellbook and the ingredients."

Dorothy nodded. "Very well. We'll wait here while you get them." Glinda vanished. "The rest of you can leave too. Take the cards away. I want to have a talk with this rabbit in private."

"But princess…" One of the guards started to say, but Dorothy shot him a look. They all bowed and left the room.

The rabbit looked up at her, but puffed out his fluffy chest. "Do your worst you…"

"Human," Dorothy said. Her voice had turned hard. "You know I think a lot of the people in fairy land underestimate what that means. Did you know I grew up on a farm? Used to help my Aunt and Uncle with the chores and on a farm those aren't very nice from the animal's perspective. It's been a long time, but I still remember how to break a chicken's neck with my hands. Even though one of my best friends is a talking chicken when I went home to Kansas we still did that.

"Then there's what my uncle taught me about rabbits." Her eyes narrowed and the rabbit flinched back under her gaze. "Now here in Oz I'm on good terms with the fluffy little critters. There's a rabbit king and a kingdom and he's always been full of manners and I like to visit when I have the time.

"But back home rabbits were always a big problem. They dig under the vegetables and fields and eat up the crops. So my uncle took me out with a scatter gun and showed me how to shoot the little suckers and trap them. Then we'd take them in and skin them and cook them and serve up the meat for dinner. Of course sometimes some of the buckshot was still in so you had to chew careful and spit it out or you'd break a tooth."

Now the rabbit was shaking, its eyes wide. Dorothy felt a little guilty. She knew that animals were people too in Oz. But she remembered Ozma in the clutches of the Queen and hardened her heart.

"Of course the worst is when they get caught in a trap. Now back in Kansas rabbits couldn't talk and usually they don't make any other sounds neither. But when the trap closes over their legs and the bone snaps… you ever heard a rabbit scream? We might not check the traps for a day or two and by then the little varmits usually twisted themselves around and tried scrambling out, not able to get away unless they got desperate and chewed their own legs off." She stepped forward and stared down at the white rabbit. Her fingers flexed and the bunny stared at them. Dorothy was still as strong as she had been when she came to Oz, which was stronger than most girls because of all the work she had done on the farm. On top of that she exercized a lot and travelled around Oz on foot, since she had no magic of her own and nobody in Oz had a horse. "Course it don't take much to snap a rabbit's bones…" She reached down and gently took an exposed paw in her fingers. "Just a little twist and…"

000

Glinda appeared back in the throne room some time later, her arms loaded down with potion ingredients and a few spell books. "I brought the…" She realized someone else was talking.

"And then you turn left and you're there," the rabbit finished.

Dorothy was writing down the directions he gave her. She was smiling pleasantly and was engrossed in her work. "Is that all?" She raised an eyebrow, daring him to have told her even one lie.

"Yes," he said. "I swear it."

"Very good." She picked up a small bell and rang it. People returned to the room. "Take him to the dungeons and send a message to the rabbit king. He can decide what to do." They bowed and took the rabbit away.

Glinda frowned. "What did you do?"

"Nothing," she said innocently. "The rabbit just saw reason. Sides, nobody much likes that blasted Queen. He gave me directions to Wonderland and then to the island where they are running to."

"You're certain he told the truth?"

Dorothy nodded. She held up a small bottle labled "Drink Me" on the side. "I'm certain."

"Then we should send some soldiers to…"

"Nope. I'm going myself." Glinda started to object. "Wait. Think about it Glinda. Wonderland is another fairy land, maybe even stranger than Oz. But they're neighbors and we can't just send a bunch of soldiers in there. Even the Queen of Hearts knew that much. The best chance we got is for me to go to their queen and ask for help."

"I will accompany you then," a new voice said. Both women turned and looked as an orange striped form entered the room.

The Hungry Tiger was another old friend of Dorothy's and the second in command among the animals of Oz. He worked with the Cowardly Lion, who was the king of Oz's beasts and the two of them were part of Ozma's personal guard when they came to the castle. He was called the Hungry Tiger because unlike some of the other animals of Oz he refused to eat anything that could talk, which included pretty much anything a tiger could eat. Fairy creatures could not starve to death, so he just stayed hungry most of the time. Dorothy always made sure the palace staff made him filling meals when he visited though, mostly from eggs.

"The Cowardly Lion sent me to speak to you. He's busy organizing the animals to search for more intruders as are the Tin Man and Scarecrow int heir own areas. The witch of the North offered any assistance you need, though she knows Glinda is already here."

"It's good to see you again," Dorothy said. "I suppose you are the best choice, since only someon who can eat and drink can come with me to Wonderland."

"Wonderland? Where is that?"

Dorothy grinned and held up her paper. "I have directions right here."

Glinda said, "Perhapse I should go too…"

"No Glinda, Oz needs you. If the Queen and her people come back with Ozma's belt then Oz will need you to protect it."

"I suppose you are right," the witch conceded.

"Don't worry. I'm a Kansas girl. I can handle myself. And I'll take the tiger with me for protection."

"Very well," Glinda said. She snapped her fingers and a silver sword appeared in her hands along with a sheath. "But take this.; It is an enchanted sword that will allow you to defeat any foe."

Dorothy took it and examined the thing. Then she sheathed it and attached it to her belt. "Thank you Glinda. I will return with Ozma or not at all."

"And I will protect them both with my very life," the tiger said. They gathered packs full of travelling food and equipment and took their leave.

The path through the gnome tunnels was long and hard, but eventually Dorothy and the tiger found the small rabbit hole. The tiger said, "Are you sure this is it?"

"That's what the rabbit said," she told him.

The tiger said, "But what if he lied? How do you know this potion is not poison?"

Dorothy said, "Then we're going to die." She put the tiny container to her lips and drank, then held it for the tiger to sip from. "I don't feel any-eeeeeee!" The world seemed to drop away around her.

Suddenly the tunnel they had walked down was now a huge cavern and the rabbit hole was like the tunnel had been. Dorothy turned and saw the tiger shrink down too. Checking quickly she was relieved to see that her clothes and supplies had shrunk with her. They continued walking and even though Dorothy knew that their new size was delaying their journey, they seemed to make good progress. As they travelled the light dimmed and soon was repalced by glowing moss, pulsing a baely visible green color from the stones. Up above the light reflecting off the damp ceiling of the cave almost looked like stars. Around them plants that had seemed small looked almost like trees.

"Curiouser and curiouser," the tiger said, looking down at itself. "I don't feel any different."

"That's magic for ya," Dorothy said. Without waiting she stepped forward into the dark tunnel. She had a special lantern that Glinda ssured her would stay lit to guide their path. "Things were simpler back home, but more dull too."

"From what you've said I would be in a zoo."

"A smart kitty like you?" She said playfully and scratched his ears. "You'd be in a circus."

"Like the Wizard of Oz? Would I have to fly in one of those silly balloons?"

"No, they'd just make you jump through hoops and ride little bicycles. Then they'd feed you and brush your fur and you wouldn't have to do anything else but practice."

"That does not sound too bad," the tiger said. "Though I think I would miss the forest and my freedom."

"Then you're one up on me," a voice said from ahead of them. They moved forward and found the remains of a broken door.

"Who is there?" Dorothy asked.

"Down here," said the voice. Dorothy followed it until she found a door knob. It had a face engraved on it. The metalic eyes swivelled to look at them.

"Who are you?" Dorothy asked.

"I was a door," he said. "I barred the way to Wonderland to all who did not have the key. But then the Queen of Hearts and her people smashed me to pieces."

"Do you know where they went?"

The knob rolled its eyes. "They did not exactly tell me, but how about I hop up on my legs and follow them? Oh wait…"

The tiger growled. "Don't speak to princess Dorothy like that."

"Princess? A human princess? In the fairy lands? I thought only Queen Alice ever held that title."

Dorothy asked, "Can you tell us where queen Alice is? Maybe she can help us."

"Certainly. Take me with you and I'll show you the way to her in no time."

"How do we know you know the way?"

"Well of course I know the way to Wonderland!" It looked indignant. "I had to be put in place before I could guard the ways into our kingdom you know. And it's the only trip I ever took. I definitely remember the way."

Dorothy bent down and picked it up. "I trust it. Besides, if it lies we can easily just dump it somewhere or bury it in a hole."

The knob gulped and muttered something about how unfeeling humans were. "Ow!"

"Oops, I appear to have banged you against a rock," Dorothy said innocently. "Did you have something to say about it?"

The knob was going to demand an apology, but in the end it just said, "Uh, I'm fine… your majesty."

"Very good. Now which way?"

It turned out that the knob really did know where it was going. Since it was animated by magic and not organic the thing did not have memory problems. "Now turn left here and we should see… there!"

They came out into a huge cave. At least Dorothy assumed that was what it was. Something up near the roof was glowing and lit everything in a dull light, like twilight. The tiger said, "It's so big. The roof is so high it looks like the whole sky… and it seems to spread out forever."

Dorothy had to admit, it did. There was a huge ocean and a beach. Off in the distance was a thick forest. And the ceiling was so high that even though it glowed you could barely see it. Then Dorothy slapped her forehead. "Oh right. It's not that big. We were shrunk, remember?"

The tiger nodded. "Oh yeah. Still it must be a large cave."

"It's Wonderland," the knob said. "The kingdom of the little people who live under the hills. And this is as far as I go. If you want to get more directions you'll have to ask the carpenter."

"Carpenter?" Dorothy asked. Then she spotted a house further down the beach. She and the tiger continued on until they reached it, leaving footprints in the sand. Dorothy walked up the stairs and knocked on the door. "Hello? Is anybody home?"

After a moment something moved inside and the door opened. An elf with huge ears wearing work clothes and covered in sawdust opened it. "Yes?"

"Are you the carpenter?"

"That's me."

"This door knob suggested that I ask you for directions to find Queen Alice of Wonderland."

"You want to see the queen?" He frowned and looked at the door knob. "Hey I remember you. Aren't you a part of the magical door to Wonderland which only allows those with the key to pass?"

"I was but the Queen of Hearts destroyed the door."

He sighed. "I supposed I had better fix you then. After I heard how Doorthy slipped by you I suppose I should have before, but I am a very busy man." He opened the door a bit wider and held out his hand. Dorothy handed him the knob. Behind him on the wall of the hallway she saw a stuffed walrus head attached to a wall surrounded by seashells. A toolbelt was hanging off of it. "If you want to find the queen she lunches with the Mad Hatter, the Dormouse, and the March Hare. Just go in that direction and follow the path." He pointed. When Dorothy turned to look he slammed the door.

"How rude," the tiger growled.

Dorothy said, "He lives alone by the seashore. I doubt he gets much company and if he wanted it he'd live somewhere more crowded. I've known people like that. Unless we have work for him it is probably best if we just leave." She turned and began walking in the direction the Carpenter had pointed out. Soon they found a clear path leading through the trees.

"Are you sure you want to go that way?" A female voice said. They both turned and saw a mouth floating in the air next to them. Slowly a face began to appear around it followed by a body. It turned out to be a giant cat the size of the Hungry Tiger. "There are a lot of crazy people that way." The cat crouched near a tree.

Dorothy did not show any surprise. She had met far stranger creatures than invisible cats. The tiger watched it warily and asked, "Who… are you?"

"You sound like a catterpillar I used to know," the cat said. "I am the Cheshire cat." She smiled again. "And who are you handsom?"

"I am the Hungry Tiger."

To Dorothy's surprise the cat did not ask about the tiger's name. "I see. So why do you wish to go that way?"

"We are going to see the queen," Dorothy said.

"There are a few queens in Wonderland," the cat said.

"We are looking for queen Alice." Dorothy clarified.

The cat nodded. "Oh then you're going the right way." She moved forward and leaned against the tiger. "I think I'll join you. There are not many cats as handsome as this one in Wonderland."

The tiger almost looked like ti was blushing for a moment, though it was hard to tell with its fur. But he rallied and said, "If you wish. But you must show Princess Dorothy proper respect."

"A princess? Then I suppose I must." The cat nodded it's head. "Fortunately a cat can look at a king and princesses are slightly lower, so don't expect me to be too polite."

"Understood," Dorothy said. "I know a kitten who feels the same way. I remember once she was suspected of eating Ozma's pet pig and even though she was threatened with execution she still played games with us until someone else proved her innocent. When we asked her why she said it was more entertaining that way."

"A good cat then," the Cheshire cat said. "Our ancestors from Egypt would roll over in their beautiful tombs and temples if they thought we catered to the silly ideas of humans."

The tiger sniffed. "I however am a tiger and I have my pride and honor."

"Ooo, the strong and dedicated type," she purred.

Dorothy giggled. "Very well, if you want you can accompany us and we would be glad of the guidance. But what did you mean when you said there were crazy people up ahead?"

"Oh that's just Wonderland. We're all mad here. I think it comes from living underground and never seeing the sun." She floated gently to the ground and began leading the way.

000

Alice had learned a thing or two over the years. The first was something that her friend Charles had taught her when she was young and he had written down her stories. Many humans wandered into fairy lands through holes, but few had adventures as nice as Dorothy's. In fact most rarely survived even a brief encounter with magic. Alice's memories and tales about her adventures had been driving her mad along with her sisters Edith and Lorina. People had been telling her not to tell such startling tales, others thought she might be going crazy and may need to be in an asylum, and a few had tried to beat them out of her. Somewhere deep inside something inside her snapped.

But Charles had listened and written them down. And then, to her amazement and joy, had rewritten them, turning what had been a terrifying experience into jokes, and poems, and funny children's stories. He had turned a nightmare into a dream and suddenly not so many people laughed at her, thinking the stories were just tales from the books. Then he had sat her and her sisters down and told them, "Alice says the Cheshire cat told her that everyone in Wonderland was mad. Perhapse there is a reason for that. When one is dealing with talking animals and chess pieces and monsters, maybe trying to explain it logically is wrong. If instead you just accept that you are mad and move on… well one can believe in ten impossible things before breakfast and take it in stride."

His funny logically illogical way of looking at things had taught Alice to think and get over her fears, things that women of the time were not expected to do. And as she grew older Alice found that life in "the real world" was so much harder and scarier than Wonderland had ever been. And when it was decided for her that at age sixteen she would marry she left, looking for a certain mirror in her family's old house that she had first found buried in the bottom of a rabbit hole, and returned to Wonderland.

The Queen had been ruling everyone with fear for centuries. And Alice, who was slightly crazy even if she had learned to hide it, had met up with the other two queens, the ones who had abdicated to her before. They asked for her help in deposing the Queen of Hearts and Alice had burst out laughing, happily agreeing to give her life if needed.

And Mad Queen Alice was born. She fought like a berserker, laughing and slashing away with a sword in both hands. Alice was fast, driven by madness and freedom and before she knew it her enemies were dead or running, driven out of Wonderland for parts unknown.

A hundred years later here she sat at the Mad Hatter's table, still wearing her pretty blue sun dress, torn and stains with blood. Her hair and skin were bone white, the result of a century underground without any sunlight. And while she smiled prettily, Alice's eyes had huge pupils and seemed to dance a bit in their sockets as if their owner were seeing things nobody else could all the time. On her head was an ivory white grown bestowed on her by the white chess queen.

Alice sat cross legged on the ground so that she could fit at the table. Mad she may have been, but she was not stupid. Durring the war she had cheated a bit, using some of the magical foods of Wonderland to keep herself slightly larger than everyone else.

Magical foods were rare and mostly horded in secret cashes and the only large supplies were either under lockdown at the castle or growing wild in Wonderland. The second choice however was not used often because you could never tell what effect wild magic might have. Maybe it would make you large, or turn you into a fish, or make you invisible. It was the original source of many talking animals and plants. The glowing moss that provided the dim light of Wonderland also produced the powder of life that brought things like statues, paintings, and things to life.

Alice had given up trying to work out how that worked. Instead she focused on getting to know the people, not caring if they were men, women, or gryphons or talking rocks. The people of Wonderland learned to love her and her policy of not simply cutting everyone's head off for the fun of it.

"Would you care for another sip of mint tea?" Alice asked the Mad Hatter.

He looked at her with crazed eyes of his own, irises surrounded by the telltale signs of mercury poisoning that many people of her time had been prone to. The eighteen hundreds had been a time of seriously unsafe work conditions. He had no idea how or when he arrived in Wonderland, but he had met the carpenter and the man had made him a magic table, that produced any food or drnk he wanted. He had made friends with the Dormouse and March Hare and eventually Dorothy herself, who often prefered to eat with him in the palace garden, where they had moved the table among the white rose bushes.

"Oh certainly," the hatter said with a grin, revealing large gray and yellow teeth. "It is my unbirthday after all."

"Mine too," Alice and the Dormouse said.

The March Hare sniffed. "It happens to be my actual birthday."

Alice frowned. "Didn't we celebrate your birthday last month?"

"Rabbits age faster than humans," he said.

"So do mice, but I only celebrate mine once a year. You just want another carrot cake to yourself," the Dormouse said from her spot in the middle of the table, next to the plate of toast. Then she looked up, her nose twitching. "Cat! I smell a cat!" Without a second thought she ran over to one of a dozen teapots and slipped inside.

Before the others could ask what was going on a group of creatures came out from among the bushes. In the lead was the Cheshire cat, who was allowing parts of herself to disappear at random. Next to her was a tiger of the same size. They were talking ammicably when the cat suddenly said, "There you are. I told you I'd get you here."

A blonde girl came up behind the two felines and said, "We never doubted… you." She saw Alice. Those crazed dancing eyes in the face of a giantess. Her bloody torn clothes were otherwise clean, obvious washed on a regular basis and holding a hint of the kind of magic the munchkins used to keep her own clothes in tact.

Dorothy recognized insanity when she saw it and turned to the only other human in the area for some clue on how to act, but one look at the man at the other end of the table washed that thought away. The cat had been right. They were among mad people.

Swallowing Dorothy curtsied to Alice and said, "I am Princess Dorothy of Oz. Do I have the honor of addressing Queen Alice of Wonderland?"

Alice blinked down at the tiny girl and realized that physically Dorothy actually looked older than her. Then she realized that the girl was… "My word! You're human!"

Dorothy straightened and smiled up at her. "Yes, your majesty."

"I thought it was just me and the hatter," Alice said, standing up, bumping against the table and sending everything scattering, including the teapot the mouse was in. She came bodysurfing out and then ran for the bushes when she saw the cat. As Dorothy dropped away she thought better of it and sat back down. "Why are you wearing trousers?"

Dorothy looked down at herself. "They're much better for hard work than pants. And travelling from my kingdom to yours would have been difficult in a dress."

"When I was a girl they would have hit me if I'd even suggested wearing men's pants."

"These are girl's pants," Dorothy assured her. "And I grew up working on a farm. Whatever you've heard in books, girls learn quick to wear pants when you've got to milk cows and dig in fields. I have many fine dresses at home." She swallowed. "Though yours looks um… lovely."

Alice laughed. "Don't lie. I look like I belong in a mental ward. That's why I wear it. So I know that no matter how crazy I am, I'm not locked away and imagining all this. If I were the doctors would not let me dress like a crazy person."

Dorothy smiled back pleasantly into Alice's slightly manic gaze. Crazy she might be, but she spoke like a school teacher trying to explain something crazy with logic. "That makes a certain sense I suppose."

"And what brings you here?" Alice asked.

Dorothy sighed and shook her head. "That is going to take some explaining."

"Then do sit down," the hatter said. "We love stories."

Dorothy, the tiger, and the cat moved to chairs at the table. "My story is a bit strange. I hope you'll believe me."

Alice's eyes seemed to harden with anger and hurt. "I will listen and I won't judge your story just because it might sound crazy Dorothy. I would never do that."

The hatter made a big to-do about having not one but two members of royalty at his table. The Hare, unimpressed and realizing that at least for the day his chance of getting his own cake was ruined, excused himself before Dorothy began her story. The Cheshire cat listened intently while the Hungry Tiger happily began stuffing himself.

Alice and Dorothy traded stories of how they had come to live in fairy kingdoms. Neither had heard of the other before, though every fairy knew stories of humans who had wandered in from and to strange lands. Most of them did not end well and going mad was often the least of their worries.

When Dorothy got to her relationship with Ozma Alice spit tea through her nose. "What? You say you two are… lovers? How… I mean if she was a boy can she turn back again?"

"No, why would she?" Dorothy asked, playing dumb. Alice's clothes were tattered, but had once been fine. And her manners marked her as a "proper lady". How often did someone raised like that a century ago even hear the idea of two women as lovers. She had told Dorothy about running away before her wedding. She probably had never done it with a man, let alone a woman.

Alice blinked a few times, but after a moment she seemed to relax. It was just one more bit of strangeness. She slowly sipped her tea and then said, "Go on."

So Dorothy told her about he visit from the Queen and how she and the others had run off, stealing away with Ozma. "I need to find her before they do something terrible."

"Indeed. Though I doubt she'll harm this Ozma of yours," the hatter said. "The Queen of Hearts has too much respect for royalty. It's what makes her feel entitled to do as she pleases."

"I hope you're right," Dorothy said. "I could never live without her. Oz if wonderful, but strange and Ozma… she gives me something to hold onto. To keep me steady."

Alice nodded. "I wish I had something like that."

"There's always me dear," the hatter said.

Alice smiled. "Don't be silly, you're mad. Everyone in Wonderland is."

The hatter nodded and then swung his head around as if something had flown between them. Then he blinked. "What was the pickle?"

"I like being mad," Alice said. "It simplifies everything. When I was in England my life was ordered and they taught me logic. Trying to explain that I could never have been to a place such as this." She waved a hand. "If they were right, then I'm crazy. But if I'm right then being crazy works. Either way I'm mad. But the Queen… she was crazy. And if she is building a new army and gathering magic belts and things, I can't have that."

"So you'll help me?" Dorothy asked.

Alice nodded. "Naturally. Now, how can I help you?"

"Do you know where they might have gone?"

Alice played with some of her long white hair. "If she came through Wonderland they would have had to move quickly. I've left orders with everyone to kill her on sight. But then, they may have gotten distracted."

"The king… Smee, said that they… the people who took her in… were sailors. That they lived near an island."

Alice frowned. "The sea here is small, but it washes in from outside. There are no islands. Just a few rocks."

"Once when I landed in one of the other kingdoms across the desert from Oz I landed near the beach. The sands around it were deadly, but there was an ocean. I headed inland from there, so maybe that's it."

"The ocean comes in from the outside," the Cheshire cat said. "I go to the underground sea to catch fish sometimes. And the carpenter lives there. He's Wonderland's best magician.. I'm sure the Queen could sneak past him, since he's always busy, but even he would notice them living nearby."

"So how does the ocean get in?" The tiger asked, a bit of tea dripping off his whiskers. "I mean this is a cave, connected to the gnome tunnels. It just looks big because we're all tiny right now. So the water has to get in somehow."

"It does…" the cat said. "But aside from crossing the sea the only way in or out of the canyon isn't really safe." She looked at Alice. "It goes through the canyon."

If she could have, Alice would have paled. "Oh my. That isn't good. It isn't good at all." She wrapped her arms around herself and began rocking. "Beware… the claws that catch…" She slammed her mouth shut and shook all over.

Dorothy put a hand on her arm and Alice jumped. A hundred years, she thought to herself, and she still acted like the little beaten girl they locked in her room when company came over and was only let out to say hello before being excused for "not feeling well". Swallowing she straightened up and said, "It is the home of the worst monster in Wonderland."

"The jabberwock," the hatter said. "A hideous beast with huge teeth, eyes like the fires of Hades, and wings that flap like thunder."

"In addition there are other things, that live there because they are dangerous, but the people of Wonderland drove them back. So they hide in the Jabberwocky's canyon, avoiding it and sometimes sneaking out to hunt for food among out people. They live there because only a fool would go there."

"Then how would the Queen have gotten through?"

Dorothy frowned. "That depends… on how many they started with." The others let that thought settle for a moment. "And those cards of hers… they had weapons and don't feel pain. Feed the monsters a few people, have the cards protect them, and run for it. That would work and I can easily imagine the Queen doing something like that. She's a low down kidnapping polecat with the morals of an alley…" She remembered her company. "Rat." Fortunately the Dormouse was out of earshot.

"I'll go," the tiger said instantly. "I can probably sneak in faster alone. And you will be safe princess."

"No," Dorothy said instantly. "I am going after Ozma. There will be no discussion about that."

"You're crazy," Alice said. "You'll be eaten alive."

"Well I'm certainly not going," the cat said getting down from the table. She winked at the Hungry Tiger. "If you change your mind and decide to live, come find me handsome." And then she vanished, leaving a smiling fang filled mouth floating in the air for a moment.

"I can offer you weapons," Alice said. "There are many of them lying around the palace."

Dorothy held up the sword Glinda had given her. "I have that covered."

"Then at least accept some provisions."

"I wouldn't want to…" Doorthy began.

The tiger said, "Do you have any of that growing food you mentioned?" They stared at him. "It just occurred to me Princess, that the rabbit tricked us. He only gave us the shrinking potion."

Dorothy put a hand to her mouth and gasped. "You're right. And they must have the growing food or else they would not have been full size in Oz." Se pulled out and examined the tiny vial. It was still mostly full.

"I do, but I'm not sure how useful it would be. At full human size the canyon would be a small crack and you would never fit through."

Dorothy pursed her lips. "It doesn't matter, I need to find Ozma."

"You're mad," Alice said, "But I will help you."

Dorothy nodded. "Thank ya kindly."

Alice shook her head. "Thank me if you make it back alive."

000

The castle had been interesting to say the least. The carpenter had bbuilt it long ago and it was full of magic and… wonder. The closets could produce any clothes you wanted and the pantry did the same with food. Stairs lead up and curved up walls to where furniture was stuck to ceilings and walls, completley defying gravity as their occupants could when using them. Some doors opened up to strange places. And s lot of them moved around at random.

"If anyone here wasn't mad already," Alice told them, "then the castle would fix that. I think the carpenter built this place just because he could." They found the armory and potion storage. Few of the bottles were labled. And of those that were the lables were marked in a language none of them understood. Dorothy said, "I don't know what's in any of them for the most part. So they just collect dust. But this I recognize." She pulled out a jar of mushrooms. "One side will make you large and the other makes you shrink."

"Which side is which?" Dorothy asked.

"No idea," Alice said happily, her eyes dancing. "It took a bit of experimenting to get me this size and since then I've left off. I heard stories about twenty years ago of a Japanese plumber who used to use them all the time while on a quest to rescue a princess from an evil monster. Sounded like an interesting story, but I never met the man myself. They said he was so amazing he must have had a thousand lives."

"Are you teasing me?" Dorothy asked, looking at the broad grin on Alice's face.

"Maybe," Alice said. "I'm never sure." After a night's sleep, which the tiger insisted on, Alice agreed to lead them to the canyon. "I wish I could go with you, but I can't face that creature again. And I don't think I would do well in the sunlight again." She nodded to her pale white arms.

Dorothy looked up at her. "I don't expect you to risk your life for me or my companion. You have done more than enough already."

"I heartily agree," the tiger said.

Alice nodded, but looked uncomfortable as she led them through the dim Wonderland landscape. As they walked Dorothy and the tiger took in what little they could see of it. Strange birds and animals, but no stranger than any others they were used to. But as they approached their destination light began to shine. Finally they stopped at the edge of the forest and from a tall thin crack in the cavern wall spilled blinding sunlight.

"I can go no further," Alice said. "I'm not used to all this light."

Dorothy hugged her at the waist. "Thank you for your help Alice. In the future I may be back to visit Wonderland again. And you will always be welcome if you wish to visit Oz. Whatever size you choose to stay."

"Thank you Dorothy," Alice said quietly. She looked down at her new friend. "You don't know what it means to me to speak to someone who isn't quite so mad."

"I'm not mad at all," Dorothy said.

"A woman who travels with a talking tiger through fairy lands and faces monsters to find another woman she is in love with?" Alice asked playfully. "If you are not crazy my dear, then something is very wrong with the world."

Dorothy did not know what to say to that she she just nodded to the Hungry Tiger and the two of them walked towards the light.

The valley looked innocent enough. Giant grasses and other plants filled it. Sunlight poured in from above and the walls were towering and almost completely verticle. They walked in slowly, eyes alert for any movement, but none came. Dorothy drew her sword and held it ready.

"I smell blood," the tiger growled softly.

They soon found the source of the smell. Alice had mentioned that there were other monsters here. A pile of their dead lay at their feet/ The things were spotted and looke dlike hyenas except bulkier and with jaws big enough to swallow Dorothy and the tiger both together. Each one was twice as tall as her at the shoulder.

"What are they?" Dorothy asked.

"I have no idea," the tiger said. "But what I don't like is that these were so unremarkable compared to the Jabberwock, that the others saw no reason to do more than mention them."

Dorothy looked at the bloody monsters and their huge teeth and swallowed, her hands tightening around the sword. "The blood's dry, but these are fresh kills." She looked at the wounds. "Most of these are cuts, but a few look like bullet holes." That meant that they had guns when they were in Oz, but had not used them. Either they did not want to alert the people in the castle… or they had thought it was more important to save their bullets for the trip.

"They probably killed more going the other way."

Dorothy looked away and something caught her eye. "Wait, I see something over there." They moved away from the carnage.

Lying under one of the trees was a half a playing card, the jack of diamonds. As they approached it looked up at them and waved its one remaining arm. "So, it's you."

"You were with the Queen," Dorothy said.

"And she took your queen," it said. "It's nearly checkmate."

Dorothy shook her head. "What happened to you?"

"The monsters. We were fighting the land beasts when it came out of the sky. Dark wings like thunder clouds. Teeth and claws that flashed in the light. And it took the Knave and me in each claw. It bit me in half and then dropped me when it realized I was not meat. While it was busy eating the knave like a tart the others ran for it."

"She just left you?"

"You sound surrpised," it said with a self deprciating smirk.

"Where did they go?"

The card said, "It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does!"

"No it doesn't." It raised its arm and pointed. "You see those five bodies over there?"

They looked. "Yes, so?"

"Last night… there were seven."

A huge dark shadow passed over them, but by the time Dorothy and the tiger looked up whatever had cast it was gone. But in the distance they heard a blood curdling screech and a loud almost heart-like thump.

The card chuckled nastily. "It's been eating the bodies. But something tells me it would prefer something that moves."

"I think he's right," Dorothy said. She and the tiger turned and took off running. "I don't feel right leaving him back there like that."

"If we try carrying him it'll slow us down. If we get eaten we won't be helping anyone."

"Maybe we won't get eaten," Dorothy said. "It was flying in the other direction." She looked back over her shoulder. Her eyes widened. "Run faster!"

The tiger did not need to look. It could smell and feel in its whiskers the thing coming up behind them. Besides, the look on Doorthy's face was enough for him to understand.

What Dorothy had seen was a huge black-purple shadow, like darkness given form. The eyes were round orbs and the front teeth were bucked, almost like a rabbit. It would have been funny if it were not stuck on the body of a huge dragon. Dorothy was fast, in great shape, but as the thing closed in she knew she would never stand a chance of outrunning it.

The tiger pounced… on Dorothy. They hit the ground just as the Jabberwocky flew overhead. Its claws caught on the ground where they would have been, tearing up the turf and shooting dirt everywhere. It screeched in frustration, landing with an Earth shaking thud before turning on them.

Dorothy, her heart racing, got to her feet, her sword held out. "Stay back! I don't want to hurt you."

To her shock the thing laughed. "As if you could with that. It takes a special kind of sword to slay a being of dragon blood little girl. And that is not it."

"Please, let us go," Dorothy begged.

The thing shook its head. "I can not be so soft. This is my hunting ground. You knew that when you came. If I show mercy, I will starve. Nothing personal." It struck with its claws.

To both Dorothy and the Jabberwock's surprise the sword blocked the blow. It did no damage, but with a shower of sparks it deflected the claws. They both stared and then the monster struck again and again. Dorothy laughed. "This is a magic sword. The barer can not be defeated."

"I've seen them before. I don't need to defeat you. I just need to wear you out," it hissed.

Dorothy realized that it was right. The sword was big and heavy. It could not pierce the beast's skin. Eventually she would get tired and let go.

The tiger ran around and jumped at the monster's side, raking his claws along its ribs. They did no good and with a swat of a giant claw he was sent flying. He landed on his feet, but was growling in frustration. "I can't get through."

"Of course you can't."

It took a second for all three of them to realize that this was a new voice. Suddenly right over the Jabberwock's head a set of smiling teeth appeared. "Run!" And before it could act the Jabberwok suddenly had cat claws scratching at both its eyes. It screeched and over the noice Dorothy heard the cat shout again, "Run! Go save your queen!"

Dorothy lowered her sword and took off again, the tiger on her heels. Behind her she saw the jabberwock shaking its head back and forth and the cat paws and teeth vanished. "I think she'd fine…" The dragon-thing turned and glared at them. "I'm not sure about us though."

"Hurry," the tiger roared.

Behind them the Jabberwocky started to run and fairly fast, but they had a head start and it was not designed to run along the ground. It was like being chased by a four legged bird. But as their lead increased it changed direction, dashing into the trees.

"What is it doing?" Dorothy asked. Her chest was heaving and her lungs burned. Up ahead they could see the end of the canyon, a distant patch of sand and blue ocean.

The tiger heard rocks falling. "It's climbing up the cliff walls. It's going for height so it can fly again."

They raced for the opening. Around the the canyon walls were closing in. For a mad moment Dorothy thought it would be too tight a fit for the monster, but realized that its claws would easily be able to grab them if they stopped by the cliffs. "Keep going… I got myself a plan!"

The tiger trusted her and had no other options, so they ran. Even when Doorthy's legs hurt and burned and wobbled under her she ran. A dark shadow suddenly blocked the exit. The Jabberwock had flown ahead of them. Dorothy kept going. As the scaled claws reached out to grasp Dorothy dove, sliding down between its legs, barely missing its belly by an inch and landing face first in the sand just as a wave of warm water hit her in the face.

The tiger was not so lucky. The Jabberwock grabbed him along the rump and chuckled evily. "It seems I've caught a tiger by its tail." The tiger twisted and roared, biting and scratching at the Jabberwock, but to no effect. "It was a fine chase, but now it is over. I have you and soon, I will have your friend." It turned to search the beach for its other victim.

As it did something blocked out the bright tropical sunlight. It blinked at the udden change in light and looked down, green afterimages blocking its view for a second. Looking down it saw an open jar containing several small brightly colored mushrooms. One was lying next to it, a small bite taken out of it. Two strange rocks were on either side.

Then it realized that those were not rocks, but in fact shoes, each almost as big as the Jabberwock itself. Gulping loudly, its long snake-like throat twitching all the way down, its gaze slowly rose.

Frowning angrily Dorothy bent down and stared into the tiny monster's eyes. "Put… the tiger… down." The Hungry Tiger landed in the sand and had the wind knocked out of him. Dorothy reached out for the Jabberwock, but in a burst of speed it copied her move before, running between her legs and towards the sea. A few flaps of its wings and it was airborn, out of reach and gliding over the water. Soon with was completley out of sight.

Back on its feet and breathing heavily the tiger gasped out, "Nice work princess."

"Come on, let's feed you some of this mushroom and get you back to normal," Dorothy said. She looked down at herself. She looked normal, but she really had nothing to compare it to.

"Not a good idea right now," the tiger's tiny voice meowed like a house cat.

"Why not?"

"Because I think I'm going to puke." And he did before collapsing into the warm sands.

Being distracted turned out to be a mistake. While she was conscerned for the tiger another wave rolled in and took away the jar, sucking it intot he deeps with a series of big bubbles. She barely managed to grab the lone mushroom which was floating in the water. "Crud."

After he was feeling better the tiger took a bite of the mushroom and ballooned up. When he finished he was bigger than Dorothy, almost as large as a horse. "That's better."

"Are you big or am I still small?" Dorothy asked.

"You're just the right size," the tiger assured her. "My whiskers give me a good sense of how big something really is."

"Then maybe you should eat some of the other side of the mushroom." Dorothy held it out. A large striped paw knocked it away into the water again. "Hey!"

"No!" He growled. "I felt so weak when facing the Jabberwock. Like a kitten in its claws. I never want to feel that way again."

Dorothy watched the mushroom float for a minute and then sink. "It'll take a lot more food to feed you now."

"I'm used to being hungry," he said. "Besides, if any fish find those mushrooms, there should be plenty to eat."

'They'll eat us first," Dorothy pointed out. But all the same she realized she did feel better with the giant tiger at her side. "Maybe that stupid flying lizard will be back and we can eat him."

They looked around and realized that they were in trouble again. The beach was blocked by the cliffs. And even if they were willing to go back through the canyon, now it was barely a crack in the wall. Peeking through Dorothy could see the length of it, tiny guinea pig sized monster-bodies lay further back and they could even see the crack that led back to Wonderland.

Walking along the beach they found V-shaped marks in the sand. Dorothy said, "I saw something like this when I went sailing. Big ships anchor off the coast and they take people over on smaller boats. She peered around and as far as they could see in either direction were similar isolated beaches and cliffs.

"We could swim, but where to?" The tiger said. "Strange things live in magical seas. I'm not sure I want to risk attracting attention by swimming."

Dorothy frowned and checked her pack. "We've got some food and water." Not that it mattered. Neither of them could starve or die of thirst.

"We could be here a while," the tiger said.

Dorothy nodded. She could see a vision of the future in the head. Then trapped on these hot sands, gathering driftwood for the next century until they could build some kind of rafter. "I'm sorry I…"

"Don't apologize," the tiger said. "I volunteered. We've on a quest to save our queen."

Dorothy stood there for a moment, staring out at the waves. Finally she said, "I dropped my magic sword." She held it up, a tiny metal toothpick in her fingers.

The tiger looked at it and then suddenly they both burst out laughing. After a moment they settled into the sand, exhausted.

Dorothy woke up underwater and in the arms of another woman. Both of them simultaniously terrified her, especially since the woman's mouth was over hers and her naked body was holding tight to Dorothy. She started to struggle, when suddenly a bit of water passed her lips and she realized that she was breathing through the woman's mouth. With her eyes the other woman seemed to smile playfully, her long green-blue hair floating arounf them like a cloud. The color reminded Dorothy of Wonderland's glowing moss.

Something began moving against her pant legs in the water and Dorothy felt herself rising. Still lip locked with the woman she could do but stop struggling and breathe. Then they broke the surface and the woman suddenly released her. Dorothy moved back a moment, looking around in the dark. A full moon glowed among stars overhead and she was able to see what was going on.

She was in the ocean. The Hungry Tiger was treading water not far away. "Dorothy!"

"What happened…?" She trailed off as her eyes cleared of water and she saw the cliffs. She could even see the crack they had come through as a dark line in the wall. The water was right up to the edge. The tide had come in and swept them out into the water.

"You will be fine," a voice said and she turned to look at the woman. Even with her wet hair plastered down she was beautiful.

Dorothy blushed. "Thank you for saving me."

The woman smiled. "You are welcome."

"I've never… kissed anyone but my companion like that before."

The woman laughed. "That was the kiss of life, my people's secret to keeping luckless fools from drowning. Though sometimes we do it the other way and drag men to their doom. Especially men."

Dorothy blinked, trying to understand. Then she saw something move in the water. The woman saw her looking and obligingly lay back, flipping her scaled red tail above the surface. "Oh. You're a mermaid." She had heard sailor stories about mermaids when she and her uncle had been at sea.

"So I am." She tilted her head. "Did you say you kiss the tiger?"

"No!" Dorothy smiled nervously. "The tiger is my friend. My companion is who we have come to find."

"Is he in the sea?"

"I don't think so," Dorothy said. "Ozma was kidnapped by the Queen of Hearts. We followed them to that beach, but when we arrived they were gone."

The mermaid frowned. "I know of no queen, but there was a ship anchored off these shores for several weeks. Some of them went ashore not so long ago. I could not see much. When I approached they tried to hit me with harpoons." She frowned. "They killed and ate three dolphins who were good friends of mine."

"That's horrible!" Dorothy said.

The tiger growled, "I can easily believe it of her."

Dorothy sank a bit and suddenly had to spit water. "If you can help us find them I would be grateful."

"What could you do for me?" The mermaid asked.

Dorothy sighed. Getting anything out of some people was a negotiation. "My kingdom of Oz is in the middle of a deadly desert, so I am not sure what I could do for you."

"We can help you get revenge on those people who killed your friends," the tiger said.

The mermaid seemed skeptical. "People around here have been fighting pirates for centuries. There always seem to be more. There is a portal here that leads to a place called Florida in the human world. New people are always just showing up and joining with the pirates to survive. My people try to drown as many as possible, but there are always more." She eyed Doorthy. "Are you sure you aren't one of them? Usually we spare women and children but…"

"I'm travelling with a talking tiger," Dorothy pointed out. "Look, I don't know how long I can keep swimming or what else might be in the waters here with us. Could you please—" The mermaid suddenly sank under the water.

Dorothy was still treading water a half hour later. The tiger was slowing down and looked pained. "I don't think she's coming back."

"Wait, I hear something," Dorothy said. It was faint, but against the background song of the water there was a sound. They swivelled their heads, trying to figure out where it was coming from or even what it was. It was steady and repeated over and over. "Is it the Jabberwock again?"

"If that little monster drowns us I swear I'll never live it down," the tiger said.

The sound got louder and was definitely coming out of the water. _Tick…tock…tick….tock…_

"It's a clock!" Dorothy said. Something brushed against her leg and she screamed. "Something touched me!"

"Is the mermaid back?"

Something rose up a few feet away, huge in the water like a submarine. Except submarines did not have greenish-black scales all over them and a mouth full of fangs big enough for them to walk into standing up. It growled and underneith there was a loud ticking.

Dorothy would never mention this later, but as the beast opened up cavernous jaws to swallow her, she wet herself. She had never really heard any Egyptian myths. But from that point on whenever Dorothy pictures death and oblivion, she would see the inside of that mouth. The Jabberwock had been scary, but it was so strange and horrible that it was unreal. A crocodile on the other hand was a real thing, something of flesh and blood that her mind could understand and truly fear. It did not help that it sounded like a clock ticking away her life.

Just before the bite came hands rose out of the water and wrapped tightly around the snout and clamped them shut. Dorothy was splashed as the reptile twisted in the grab, but was dragged down by its attacker and its own weight.

The water was clear enough that Dorothy could see the shapes below them. The crocodile was no longer held, but its attacker was hitting it. Bubbles came up. Crocodiles could hold their breath for a long time, but they could not actually breathe under water. Bubbles and loud ticks came up from the water, but otherwise it was silent. Finally driven by a need the breathe the beast turned and swam away at full speed, heading up but away from Dorothy and the tiger.

A moment later the mermaid returned to the surface, smiling into their staring eyes. "Sorry it took so long. Wait just one more moment." She disappeared again.

"Oh gods," Dorothy said. "Why does everything with scales want to eat me?"

"Princess I'm sorry," the tiger said.

Dorothy looked at him. "For what?"

"I came along to protect you, but so far we've been in two fights and I have been useless to you."

"There's nothing you could have done," Dorothy said. "The Jabberwock was unstoppable and the crocodile had the water on its side."

"I have failed," the tiger said morosely.

Before Dorothy could say anything else another shape came across the water. For a moment she thought the croc was back, but then she saw it bobbing along. It was a small dingy. The mermaid reappeared. "There were fewer men who came back and they could not take all their little boats with them so they set this one adrift. It took me a bit to find it." Dorothy and the tiger swam to the boat, gratefully climbing aboard. When it had settled down and they lay gratefully in the bottom the mermaid rose up and looked in at them. "Better?"

"Thank you," Dorothy said. Her face was drying so now she could feel the heavy tears falling over her cheeks.

"Girl, why are you crying?"

Dorothy tried to breathe but it came out as a sob. "I am so tired. Back in Oz things were so simple and perfect."

The tiger reached over and placed a warm wet paw on her chest. "Please don't cry princess."

The mermaid asked, "How old are you?"

"Me?" Dorothy sniffled. "A little over a hundred."

The mermaid smiled. "Don't worry. When you are older you'll realize that all things change, even in fairy lands."

"I know that," Dorothy said. "Believe me, I know better than most how quickly your whole world can change. I've been dragged to and from adventures more times than most." She groaned and covered her face with her hands, feeling rough salt on her skin. "What I can't stand is being apart from Ozma. I could survive anything else. It's like someone ripped away my shadow. The one certainty in my life. Without her I think… I may go mad."

The mermaid reached out and caressed her cheek. "It'll be okay. Why don't you rest now? I'll guide you safely onward for a while."

Doorthy did not want to. She had been asleep only a short time before and the last time she had woken up it had not been pleasant. But next to her she heard the tiger snoring softly, already passed out. And as the mermaid sank from sight and the boat started moving, she heard a haunting melody drifting up from the water around her, almost hypnotic. Combined with what she had already been through she felt her resolve wain.

With the last of her strength she asked, "Where are we going?"

A hand rose up and pointed. "Do you see that star there? The second one to the right?"

"Uh huh," she said groggily.

"Just watch it straight on until morning and we'll be there. Don't worry, I'll see you safe." Dorothy believed her and knew she had no choice but to trust the mermaid. Nodding she sank into unconsiousness. The last thing she heard was a startled, "Wait, did you say this Ozma person was a _her_?" Dorothy was too tired to answer.

This beach was very different than the one she had woken up on before. For one thing it was mostly made up of small and large rocks. Others in various shapes like bridges and boulders stuck out into the water. Swimming among them she could see more than a dozen mermaids under the water in rainbow colors, each as beautiful as any other fairy she knew. Three sat on a large rock in the middle of the grotto and used combs made of shells to brush each other's hair.

The boat had been dragged up onto land and nearby the huge furry form of the Hungry Tiger was watching her with a determined look on his face.

"Are you alright?" They asked together and both smiled.

Suddenly the mermaids were there, lined up at the foot of the boat. They smiled prettily and began firing off questions.

"Is it true you were attacked by pirates?"

"Were you kidnapped?"

"I heard you kiss girls, is that true?"

"What's it like?"

Were they talking about the pirates or the girls? The questions were coming so fast she could not keep track. And several of them were rather embarrassing in themselves. Dorothy had never spent much time in school but it reminded her of girls gossip at barn dances. She held up her hands. "Answer my question first. Where am I?"

"Neverland," they all said in unison. "Where else would you be?"

Dorothy did not understand it, but when she spotted the mermaid from the night before sitting back on the nearby rock smiling, she decided to go for it and began answering questions. "No, I wasn't kidnapped my companion princess Ozma was. If they were pirates they were working for an evil woman called the Queen of Hearts. Yes we kiss and other things. I love her very much and we've been together for a very long time. It works just like you'd expect…"

The tiger suddenly came around and dropped some fruit in her lap. "There were some trees over the hill behind us." Looking up Dorothy could see a green canopy rising over the rocks.

"Thank you." She began eating. "Does anyone know where I should go from here?"

"Sorry," said their friend. "We can't go on land. I've taken you as far as I can. Just remember your promise, you'll make the people who killed my friends pay."

"I remember," Dorothy said. "You got my word on that." The mermaids seemed to sense the seriousness of it all and dived down, leaving her alone.

Dorothy ate until she was full and then asked the tiger if he wanted her to catch him some food. "Not right now. I don't want to get distracted."

She could tell he was still upset about not being able to protect her. But rather than rehash that she said, "Can you tell anything about this place?"

He shook his head. "It's a jungle out there. So many smells and sounds all the time. I caught a whiff of smoke and people, but it was a long way off and nobody I recognized. There's a cave over there, if we can make and oar."

Dorothy looked and there was a cave opening. But she could also see water marks. "I think I've had enough of places that sink at high tide." Suddenly she heard something out on the water. "Do you hear that?"

"It sounds like… ticking…" They both jumped from the boat and ran uphill.

Down in the water Dorothy saw a huge shape just under the surface. "It looks even bigger than I remember." The crocodile must have been at least seventy feet from nose to tail. Dorothy had heard somewhere that reptiles never really stop growing. If that was true this giant must have been truly ancient. And whether it was able to speak or not, its attitude towards prey were the same as the Jabberwocky. Mercy was for those who wanted to go hungry. Sitting next to the Hungry Tiger she could understand that, though she was understandably against being eaten.

"Let's go," the tiger said. "I don't think we want to go into the water again. Do you want to ride on my back?"

"Huh?" Dorothy looked up. "Oh, no. Walking will give me something else to think about. Which way should we go?"

"I smell smoke this way." They headed off into the forest.

Dorothy was beginning to wonder if they were lost when the tiger suddenly let out a fearsome roar and pounced on a nearby bush. Dorothy was scared out of her skin, but before she could question him about it something began shrieking from under his paws. Peering over his furry shoulder she saw two men, each armed with a knife each along with bows and arrows. Their skin was copper brow, they had things woven in their hair, and wore leather pants.

"Injuns!" Dorothy cried out. The man spoke, bu tin a language she did not know.

The tiger said, "They were hiding in the bushes, waiting to ambush us."

The men jabbered. Finally one said slowly, "Peace."

"Peace?" Dorothy frowned. They had not actually attacked. Still she'd had it up to her throat with suspicious strangers. "Hold them for a moment." Bending down she relieved them of their weapons, tossing them aside into the bushes. "Okay, let them up slowly."

The tiger steped back, fangs and claws still out and the men cautiously got up. "Who you?"

"I am princess Dorothy of Oz."

"Princess? You meet princess?"

Dorothy and the tiger shared a look. "Uh, yes?" They motioned for her to follow them. They hesitated only a moment before the men began leading them the way they had already been going. One of them glanced back longingly at his weapons, but turned right around at a small growl from the tiger.

Eventually the trees thinned out and both Dorothy and the tiger could smell campfires and cooking meat. As the trees parted they saw a group of about fifty teepees spread out in a big camp. Women were doing chored, children were playing, right up until they stepped out of the bushes.

Suddenly a cry went out. People saw the tiger and ran for their homes while about thirty large warriors grabbed weapons and rushed forward. The two guides began speaking quickly. After a moment of terror Dorothy saw the weapons cautiously lowered.

Finally the group parted and a beautiful woman in a tight fitting leather dress stepped forward. She was beautiful, looked about sixteen, and it took Dorothy a moment to realize she was human. "I am Chief Tiger Lily," she said in perfect English. "Who are you?"

"I am princess Dorothy of Oz and this is the Hungry Tiger. We mean you no harm."

"You come from the diretion of the evil water spirits. My men tell me your animal speaks too, as one of the spirit beasts does."

"I can talk," the tiger said. "I am princess Dorothy's guardian."

Tiger Lily nodded. "Why do you come here?"

"I am following people who stole my companion, Queen Ozma. I was told by the mermaids that they travelled by ship to this island."

Tiger Lily frowned. "There are only three groups of humans here. We have war canoes, not ships. The Lost Boys have no need of such things. That leaves only the pirates."

"I do not know who they really are. They came to our country and asked to meet with us at our castle. The woman leading them is called the Queen of Hearts," Dorothy said. "And a king who said his name was Smee."

Around them the warriors muttered darkly. Tiger Lily frowned. "We know of Smee. He became captain a long time ago when the old captain was fed to the crocodile by Neverland's greatest warrior. He is not as cruel, but is far too smart for our good. And his new woman is just as hideous, but does not kill herself, prefering to bark orders. She is an evil spirit and commands others." Dorothy understood, to the indians fairies were spirits. No real different except in the words. Tiger Lily tilted her head. "Why would the water spirits help you and not kill you? The drown most people."

"The mermaid said they killed some friends of hers. Dolphins." More muttering

"To kill a dolphin is wrong," Tiger Lily said. "Even white men feel that way."

Dorothy nodded. "My uncle said it was worse than shooting an albatross. He said if someone killed a dolphin no honest sailor would sail with him and would sooner mutiny than serve with any man who would do that."

"Why would the pirates come after your friend?"

"The Queen wants to gain control of her old kingdom. She was thrown out for being too cruel. She came to Oz to enlist our help but when we turned her down she took Ozma and the magic belt she wears. It is very powerful." Dorothy said, "We have been following them for days through dangerous and strange lands. Please, can you help me save her?"

"The pirates are our enemies," Tiger Lily said. "If they posess such powerful magic they will surely kill us. We will gladly help you. The pirates dock on the other side of the island, near the reef and cave where they are protected from the mermaids, they can hear the crocodile coming, and can defend from attacks from above."

"Above? Do you have balloons?"

Tiger Lily smiled. "You will learn the ways of Nerverland. Here, above is where the real danger always comes from."

Tiger Lily told her people to begin gathering "tribute for the air spirits". Neither Dorothy nor the tiger knew what exactly she meant so they stayed silent and waited. Some of the children brought fish for the tiger and laughed as they fed him. Around them wooden bowls were soon filled with fresh baked break and milk. When that was done Tiger Lily told Dorothy, "We are not like the Lost Boys, who live among the spirits. Thanks to the pirates the air spirits do not trust many adults. One must know how to appease them and show respect, or they can easily turn on us. But if we favor them with tribute they may give us their gifts."

"Whatever you say," Dorothy said. "This is your land. If you came to mine I would tell you how the observe our traditions."

"As it should be," Tiger Lily acknowledged.

The indians led the way into the forest and Dorothy stuck near the tiger. The jungle could be full of dangerous creatures and she noted how several of them men kept their bows and knives ready and scanned the foliage. But none of them spoke durring the trip.

Finally they came to the foot of a gigantic tree that looked more like three trees twisted around each other, just enough to show off the darkness within. Something inside sparkled briefly at off intervals, but whenever Dorothy looked it was gone. Whispering to the tiger she said, "It's bigger than our whole castle…"

The natives moved forward and placed the bowls on the ground in front of the tree's giant twisting roots and then backed away, lowering themselves to bows, faces burried in the mossy ground. Tiger Lily began chanting low and deep and so fast that Dorothy could not make out the words. It became almost a hum. They got louder and louder until they echoed in the tree.

Something buzzed over Dorothy's head. She flinched down as what appeared to be a giant bird flew past, snatching at her hair. By the time she started to get a good look it disappeared into the trees. Soon there was the sound of rustling leaves and snapping braches. Dorothy felt her hert jump as the chanting stopped and the natives backed away. Then the children appeared.

Dorothy had read Peter Pan, when she was younger. Like a lot of stories apparently the description had been cleaned up a bit.

Like lizards or spiders they crawled down the tree, their legs sticking up into the air, unaided. Around them flew tiny lights that, if Dorothy looked close, she realized were little flying glowing fairies. Pixies. She had head of them, but with Oz being in the middle of the desert there were many things she had heard of but never actually seen. Both the children and the fairies were naked and dirty, with wild looks in their eyes.

"Do not make any fast moves," Tiger Lily said softly. "Do not scream or react. Or they will tear you apart."

Dorothy did not bother responding, instead watching the boys in front of her like she would wolves. They floated and scampered, and ate by shoveling food in their mouths with their dirty hands. All while watching Dorothy and the natives with wide alert eyes. Occassionally one would bare teeth in what could have been a smile or a snarl or laugh. Those laughs… high pitched giggles that sounded more like baby laughs than those of children… sent shivers down her spine.

These were not animals, but human children. Children who were never raised… who never grew up. Not mad exactly, but not civilized. No language or rules except those obeyed by animals, ut a certain depth of knowledge that let you know they could have those things and chose not to. Some had a second layer too… a deep cold hatred of others. In a hundred years Dorothy had not seen it in Oz, but she rememered that look back in Kansas.

A boy who lived down the road whose father beat on him all the time. He resented everyone, but at the same time he did not say much about it. People had seen him beaing beat. His dad would do it in town in front of everyone, over stupid little things. Nobody had raised a hand. It had been the end of the eighteen hundreds. You did not interfere in how a man raised a child. Though later the police had intervened when he had gone too far. Some of the lost boys looked the same way the boy had. Silent, resentful, but without hope. Only here there was a tinge of fear, as if anyone outside the group might be there to take them back to that life.

Being a child forever, a child with no rules or responsibilities. It was a life of freedom and in the world of fairies where nobody ever need grow up if they did not want to, it was a dream that could come true.

But Dorothy could tell that it made them something else. These were children, but they were also monsters. Humans started out as animals, but a baby could not express that well beyond sometime sbiting anything brought to them. Growing up that animal was trained by the parents as it got smarter, taught not to break things, hurt house pets, bang on things to hear noises, or attack other kids. By the time they were a threat they had been trained to keep the animal down, think about their actions, and present a face to the world that others would not see as an immediate threat. Oh the beast was still there and sometimes even got out, but the rest of the person dragged it back to its dark cage after a while.

Here, alone with the pixies, the beast had never been tamed. Young as they were she could see scars on the boys. Teeth marks that matched the baby teeth they all still had (except where they had been knocked out), animal bites, cuts, and scratches. One was missing an eye and others had gaps in their fingers and other wounds. Take an animal, make it as smart as a man a hundred or more years old, and give him no reason to even want to be anything more than a beast and you had a lost boy.

Except for two.

One of them was, she assumed, Peter Pan. He was just as dirty as the others, but sat in the braches dressed in a green outfit sewn from leaves. He also had a sword strapped to his hip. It shone bright and sharp, but had a lot of knicks and marks on it like her uncle's farm tools. It was cared for because it was used.. a lot. He sat there watching the boys and the natives equally and sometimes one of the boys would turn from the meal to hand him big handfuls of food which he ate in a calm way, not as messily as the other boys.

The second was a girl in as tained and torn nightgown. She flew among the roudy boys who were finishing their meal and gently touched them, singing softly. Dorothy recognized the song. It was a lullaby. The boys would rub her hands as she past with whatever was closest, like cats. The girl did not flinch, even though sometimes her hand touched parts that Dorothy had been taught a lady never even looked at.

But why would she be afraid of that? Why would it matter? They were all children here and had been so long that none of them even remembered why grown ups even cared. New children came when Peter flew away and found them, hurt and crying, from places they did not want to talk about. If they did not like being touched a certain way they would strike out or fly away. Not that they needed to. The girl ministered to them like a nurse and mother.

It was horrible and beautiful at the same time.

The food ran out fast. The boys looked up at the natives who Dorothy realized were not only heavily armed and brandishing their weapons, but much farther back from them than Dorothy was. Fear clutched her as the boys looked at her, speculatively. Did the lost boys have a problem with cannibalism? She doubted it.

The Hungry Tiger brushed her side and roared. The boys backed away on instincts. Up above Peter laughed and the boys looked at him, still tense. Would he give them the cue to attack?

He raised his head and let out a crow like a rooster. Reluctantly the boys and their caretaker backed up into the trees, their eyes on the hostile natives and Dorothy the whole time. Then they flew out of the top and away, disappearing into the forest almost too fast to see.

Someone touched her shoulder and Dorothy jumped. Turning she and the tiger saw Tiger Lily standing there. "God, what was that?"

"Offerings for their blessings."

"Blessings?"

The natives came cautiously forward, still watching the trees. Theybegan retrieving the bowls. Peering inside Dorothy saw gathered in the bottom of the bowls glittering glowing dust. Tiger Lily grinned wide. "Don't worry, be happy." She dipped her fingers in the bowl and scooped up some of the dust, letting it fall again between her fingers. As she did Dorothy ntoiced that her feet left the ground a little.

000

The pirates had locked Ozma up in one of the cabins, pirate ships not being known for their brigs. She was currently doing her best to break everything inside and find anything she could use to escape. So far in her attempts to escape she had managed to kill three pirates, injur five more, and the Queen of Hearts was now sporting a black eye under her makeup.

The threats the pirates and Queen used to try to gain both her cooperation and directions on using the magic belt they had taken had fallen on deaf ears. For one thing she told them haugtily, they could not risk killing her because she was the only one who knew how to use the belt and if they returned to Oz they would likely be killed on sight. Second, she had spent years under the command of an evil witch who had tormented her for fun. She scoffed at anything these sea dogs could come up with.

Still despite her bravado the Queen of Oz was afraid. She had not been away from Oz for more than a few days in her life and while she was sure that her kingdom was not going to fall apart without her, she worried about it just the same. More than that she missed and worried about Dorothy. Would she ever see her love again?

The door opened and a derisive voice said, "Food, your majesty." A hairy tattooed arm stuck a bowl of gruel and a bottle of water by the floor.

Ozma ran out and grabbed the arm, pulling until the owner fell face first onto the planks of the floor. "Ha!" She twisted his arm and kicked out, taking him across the face.

"Help!" He managed.

Ozma barely got in another couple of kics before she was surrounded by angry looking pirates holding swords. Raising her hands she stepped back, but could not help grinning as they helped their friend up off the floor. "Just having a bit of fun."

I'l show you fun little girl," the man snarled, getting up and reaching for his knife.

She sneered back at him. "Bring it little man. We both know none of you are allowed to hurt me." The pirate hesitated. Ozma moved forward stamping her foot loudly. "Boo!" The pirates turned and ran, slamming and locking the door behind them.

Ozma smirked, then noticed that her food had been spilled. In her stained yet still elegant dress she bent down and began using her fingers to scoop it off the floor and into her mouth. Smee made sure they kept it clean enough and it would not be the first time in her life she had to scrap her food out of the dirt. All things considered it might be some time before they decided to feed her again. A bit costly for a vengeful kick, but Ozma, decided, well worth it.

Looking around the room she continued to look for any means of escape.

000

It turned out that Tiger Lily was not being so friendly towards Dorothy for nothing. She explained that the pirates had been a major threat for a long time. Smee himself had killed her father with a blunderbuss to the chest and thrown him to the crocodile. She wanted revenge. But they had lived in Neverland for a very long time and ultimately the pirate's weapons and ship were still a mystery to them. None had gotten a very close look without dying. Asking the Lost boys for advice was, ultimately a lost cause and just as likely to get them killed.

Now though they had a white person who understood the pirate's weapons of fire and death, the ship, and wanted to fight he pirates as much as they did.

Dorothy had no problem with that.

"The canons and guns they use only hold one ball at a time," Dorothy said. "Reloading takes a while. I don't think they have revolvers or even shot guns. So they have to reload each one after firing and that takes time… so they keep extras." She was drawing pictures in the sand to explain it. "They also shouldn't have real bullets so if you get the guns and the powder wet they'll become useless."

"How do we get close enough to wet them down?" Tiger Lily asked. "They will shoot us down, even if we fly."

She nodded. "True, but bullets can only go so far… can you swim?"

Tiger Lily frowned. "Not as well as the pirates. We have watched and seen them in the water sometimes. But… there are too many dangers in the water. If we fall out of a boat we can paddle back to shore, but…"

Dorothy nodded. "I understand." She shuddered remembering the crocodile. Add in sharks and sea serpents and it was all too clear why the natives would be uncomfortable spending more time than they needed in the water. "Actually that's not a bad idea. Once we rescue Ozma you could just light the ship on fire."

"We have tried that," Tiger Lily said. "They always put the fires out quickly and the fire does not burn well anyway."

"It all depends on what you burn," she said. "We just need to come up with a detailed plan…"

By nightfall Dorothy and the tribe had their plan mostly worked out, but it would be dangerous. "If she has figured out how to control the gnome king's belt then the queen could wipe us all out with a thought."

"Then we should go as soon as possible," Tiger Lily said firmly. "The pirates were dangerous enough before. If they have such magic then they will surely wipe all others from Neverland and maybe elsewhere too."

Dorothy frowned. Tiger Lily was right. The pirates already knew the way through Wonderland and Oz. Oz, where magic kept the wonderful land hidden from prying eyes and the desert prevented almost all invasion. Where Ozma's magic tapestry hung allowing them to see anywhere. Neverland was one thing, but from Oz they would be able to strike unstoppably throughout all fairy lands and even the human world. Ozma herself would sacrifice everything to keep that from happening.

"You are right, we have to stop them here," Dorothy said. "Just remember, don't attack Ozma by accident."

The princess nodded. "Your woman will be safe." She called to the others who took out bowls similar to the ones they had gathered earlier. In the dark the pixie dust inside glowed as they prinkled each other. When it touched them the glow of their bodies faded a bit, but they left trails like comets when they flew up and over the trees. "Are you ready?"

Dorothy was nervous about flying, but it would not be her firs time. "Yes." Tiger Lily took a pinch from the bowl she held and threw it over Dorothy's head. Dorothy closed her eyes tghtly. "Is it working?"

"You must think of a wonderful thought."

"Any happy little thought?"

The Hungry Tiger rubbed against her side. "You can do this Dorothy." She looked and the tiger was already floating. "I'm thinking about food."

Dorothy tried to think of something happy and only one thing came to mind. Ozma.

Suddenly she felt the ground drop away and laughed. The Indians hollered and whooped as she rose the join them followed by the tiger and Tiger Lily. It took her a moment to figure out how to steer and then one of the warriors handed her a spear. The rest of them had similar weapons including bows and arrows, spears, knives, tomahawks, and even sword belts stained with blood obviously liberated from the pirates.

Together they turned, flying over the water and towards the pirate ship.

Onboard the Queen of Hearts sat in her cabinw ith Smee, glaring at the magic belt. The gems worked into it shon and she could sense the power. Sense that it was of fairy make and would only work for someone born of the fairy world, just as that old gnome had told her. Ozma and her people had sent most of the gnomes and their allies scaurrying back to their own lands or others, devoid of their memories, but even the lowliest peasant in the gnome king's kingdom had known of their ruler's special belt.

She made sure to tell Smee this, so that he would know that neither he nor any of his men could use it. So far that had been more than enough to keep them from betraying her, along with their brief show of the people and creatures of Wonderland and Oz. So far they had over the years rarely strayed from Neverland's shores for fear of the magic and monsters dwelling all around them. They sometimes raided nearby lands, but always returned to what they considered their safe port, where the crocodile and Lost boys and natives were dangerous, but known. Their prisoners were enjoyed for a time, then eventually executed only to be replaces later.

Then had come the Queen, willing to make Smee royalty if he would help her with her plans for revenge and power. She was dangerous, bossy, and agrivating, but the pirates respected royalty and frankly had put up from worse fromt heir own mad captains over the years. The fact that she was usually the only woman on board and Smee did not hold her too tightly to her marriage vows also kept their… uh… swords sheathed, so to speak.

"Are you sure you cannot make the wench talk?" Smee asked. "A few moments under the blade and…"

"No you fool. She is a fairy. Your weapons are mostly iron and would poison her if not outright kill her."

"Wood then, under her nails."

The Queen nodded. "Yes, that may work. However, I will do it. I do not trust your men to know when to stop." She noticed him frown. "They can watch however, and once she tells us what we wish to know they may do with her as they like." Smee brightened. "In the meantime we will continue to feed her barely anything, just enough to keep her alive, until she becomes delirious and more likely to talk. Two more days should do it."

"Feed her seawater too,"Smee suggested. "That should hurry it along."

The queen shook her head. "As a cousin of mine used to say, these things must be done delicately. We must not take chances."

"Suppose someone tries to rescue her?"

"Who? How? Even if they knew where we went those fools in Oz could never follow us… what's that sound? Is someone screaming?" Getting up they raced to the door.

The sails were on fire. Rather than attack the waxed, tarred, and varnished boat itself the natives had set fire to the sails. They had also filled large bowls up with mud and water and were dumping them on the pirates, dousing their lights and wetting their guns. The cannons especially, as large stationary targets, had been taken out first. Dorothy had told them exactly how to take out the fuses with swamp muck, so that it got inside and kept the gunners from simply replacing them.

They swooped down cutting and stabbing. The hungry tiger roared in the night, slashing with his claws. He was not too fast in their air, but the sight of a flying tiger seemed to rob most of the pirates of their ability to think long enough for the big cat to claw them in passing. No fatal wounds yet, him being unused to this type of fight, but definitely enough to knock them aside bleeding.

"those blasted savages," Smee snarled. He raised his oice. "All together men, go for your swords! Break out the crossbows!"

Up abive Dorothy said to Tiger Lily, "You didn't say they had crossbows!"

"What is a crossbow?"

She cursed. The tribe were excellent fighters, already having taken out more than a dozen pirates, but there were many more and she could see some of the indians among the dead too. It was just as dark for them as it was for the pirates, who still had some working muskets. Which explained also why Tiger Lily's people might not know about the crossbows. Why use those if you had guns?

"They are like guns that shoot arrows."

"How many do they have?"

As the pirates came up from below deck Dorothy saw them carrying over a dozen really well polished crossbows and almost twice as many quivers full of small but undoubtedly effective arrows. She had only ever seen one used once, back in Kansas at a fairground shooting competition. The men using it had been good enough to shoot the fleas off a hound at thirty paces. How good would pirates hundreds of years old and with a lot of time ont heir hands be?

"Maybe we should…"

just then she was interrupted. Out of the dark forest came a cry, not of any jungle monster or animal, but of a rooster, rising out from the trees. Turning to look Dorothy saw spots of darkness blotting out the stars.

The indians, recognizing that cry, backed away, forming a pack outside the range of the ship's guns and facing the island. Dorothy gripped her spear tightly. Would the Lost Boys attack them or the pirates, or both?

The pirates soon found out as a horde of dozens of children, armed with sticks and rocks and like the indians piarte swords, descended on the ship. The pirates screamed and fought back, cutting them down despite their age, but there were too many and they fought like animals. Once they used up their sticks they claws and bit. Some peed on the pirates from the air while others merely taunted them.

Smee came forward, "Slice those little brats to ribbons."

"Not today old man," a high pitched voice said. Smee turned and saw Peter Pan land beside him and draw his sword.

Smee did likewise. "You won't take me the same way you took Hook."

A voice said behind him, "You're right, he won't." Suddenly mee stiffened and Dorothy realized someone was behind him. A bloody knife point stuck through Smee's stomach. He gasped, dropping his sword and looked over his shoulder. In the moon and starlight and burning sails from above Dorothy saw the girl who had been with the boys, tending them lovingly.

Now madness glittered in her eyes and she grinned. "You see mate I came to Neverland durring what we called the Great War. A time when we learned not to rely on all this dueling bollocks." She smiled and twisted the blade.

"Bad form," Smee coughed out, spitting blood. Then fell to the ground unmoving.

A door slammed open and the Queen of Hearts appeared, holding Ozma by her hair with a very sharp axe at her throat. "Back off or I'll kill this little Jezebel right now." Ozma cried out as the blade knicked her, making a drop of blood appear.

The Lost Boys froze for a moment, looking between Ozma and the other girl. Wild they may be, but they had a certain respect for girls. One said, "Mama?"

Peter had no problems. He raised his sword and took a step towards the queen. She saw this and hissed in Ozma's ear, "Tell me the secret of the belt and I will let you go. Don't and these barbarians will kill us both."

"I'd rather die," Ozma said. "You, boy! Stab through me to get to her if you have to but don't let her escape."

"You little—!" Peter did not hesitate long enough to hear what the queen would say he flicked his sword forward, straight for Ozma's stomach, obviously intending to obey and run them both through.

A wooden shaft came down on his sword, knocking its point down and into the deck, where it stuck hard. Pan looked up into Dororthy's hard eyes. "Mine!"

He smiled and bowed his head, yanking his sword free. "I believe… you are right." He bowed theatrically and then flew off to join the Lost boys and the indian braves in their fiht with the pirates.

"Dorothy," Ozma breathed. "You found me."

"Anywhere my love," Dorothy said with a wink. She turned her spear on the queen.

"I'll cut off her head," The Queen said, tightening her grip on Ozma. "I swear it, if you don't back off right now!"

"I believe you," Dorothy said. "And if Ozma dies, I'll join her as soon as I kill you."

"The hell you will," Ozma said. She kicked back, catching the Queen's shin.

Ow!" The Queen of hearts jumped and Ozma ducked, sliding out of her grip. "I'll get you for that!"

Ozma hurried over to Dorothy, who kept her spear pointed at the Queen, even as she felt the rush of relief as Ozma held her close. Dorothy glanced over her shoulder. The pirates were almost wiped out. "It's over. Your men are dead and we will never tell you how to use the belt." She looked down at it, buckled around the queen's waist. "Give it back and I'll let you live."

Backing towards the railing the queen said, "Never! Maybe I am finished in neverland, but there are other places. Places where someoen else will know how to use this belt. Once I find hem I'll b back and I'll lay waste to your little kingdom along with that Alice girl and Wonderland."

"No you won't," Dorothy and Ozma said together. Ozma continued, "You have nowhere to run, your highness."

"Even if you ddi, I can fly," Dorothy pointed out. She poked forward with her spear.

The queen lashed out with her ax, cutting off the pointed tip. "Ha, fool. As if you could even use that weapon." She swung her ax with a practiced ease. "Come for me then."

"I may not be able to use a weapon,"Dorothy said. "but on the farm we had the stubornest mule in twelve counties and while I didn't like it, when it needed doing I'd beat his hide until he did his work. Something tells me he took pain a lot better than you will." She hefted the thick wooden shaft like a bat.

The Queen stepped back, leaning against the railing. Around them the fire and the fighting were dying out. The Lost Boys and the native tribe were surrounding them now, holding up their weapons. It was clear that if Dorothy gave the word or fell in abttle they would rush the queen and flay her alive. Several of them alsready had bloody scalps hanging from their hips.

Tossin her ax aside the queen jumped overboard. Cackling she swam like a fish, her arms pulling her swiftly throught he water. "I'll be back!" She called over her shoulder. "One way or another I'll be… what's that ticking?"

The onlookers watched as jaws wider than a longboat opened up and swallowed the queen with a loud snap before sinking back into the dark water.

"No!" Ozma yelled. She turned to Dorothy. "The belt! She was still wearing it. Without it… how will we get home?"

Ozma was right, Dorothy realized. They could fly, but Oz was hidden from the air by magic and pixie dust only lasted so long. They could never search t he desert and find Oz…that had been the point of hiding it. Likewise all the tunnels leading to it that were big enough for them were sealed off because they led to fairy lands that were full of monsters.

"Maybe we can find some of the queen's magic potions so we could go back through Wonderland again," the tiger suggested.

Dorothy shook her head. "That would mean shrinking down and trying to sneak past old buck-tooth the batwinged bastard again. We barely made it one way with help." She put her arm around Ozma. "We can't risk losing each other like that again." Ozma looked like she wanted to argue for a moment, but then she hugged Dorothy just as hard.

Behind them the Indians and the Lost Boys were setting fire to the ship. It was slow going, but without the pirates to stop it the job was getting done. The girl with Peter said, "We should leave before the fire reaches the gun powder."

"The lady has a point," Dorothy said.

Tiger Lily came forward. "You may return with us to our village. Tonight we will feast and give thanks for the deaths of our enemies."

Dorothy nodded. "That sounds like a good idea." She kissed Ozma's forhead and said, "Hold on tight." A moment later Dorothy heard Ozma laugh in wonder as they rose up into the air, still holding tight. She knew then that whatever happened, it would all be alright as long as they were together.

The next day Dorothy and Ozma began packing, loaded down with supplies and spare pixie dust in a flask. They were now wearing buckskin clothes donated by the tribe and were as ready as they ever would be.

"You do not need to leave," Tiger Lily said. "Our people would welcome you as sisters."

'Thank you kindly," Dorothy said. "But there's noplace like home. Maybe one day we will return. But first we've got to at least try to get back to Oz."

"My people need me," Ozma said. "Without the belt we are vulnerable to magical detection and attack. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but…"

"We'll have to make contact with the neighbors now," Dorothy said. "Form alliances. Make peace and pacts of protection."

The tiger came between them. "But first, we need to find a way back."

"What if no such way exists?" Tiger Lily asked.

Ozma smiled. "Then our land will be safe and we will find a place to live. Until we know for sure though we must go on. If we return home the danger I real. If we never do, trying will give us something to do."

Tiger Lily nodded. "Then go with our thanks and know that there will always be a place for you in Neverland if you ever need it."

The girls nodded and Tiger Lily sprinkled them both with a whole handful of pixie dust. Turning to look at each other they rose into the air, followed by the Hungry Tiger. As they did the world dropped away and spread out before them. In the distance they could see other places, where sometimes the sky was even a different color. All spread out before them.

"Well," Dorothy said. "Maybe we do need to get home, but… I think as long as I'm with you I don't mind taking the long way."

Ozma nodded, holding tight to Dorothy's hand. ""I feel the same way." As one they flew forward, eager to see the next land on their adventure.

Author's Note

This story is meant for people who have actually READ the books, not just seen the movies. Also as I mentioned the Oz storyline here stops at the end of The Emerald City of Oz, which was supposed to be the last book before the author lost touch with Doorthy and her friends. I do hope I managed to keep tto the feel of the authors' original vision for these worlds as I mixed and atched the chaacters. Also please note that I wrote most of this long before ABC's "Once Upon a Time:" was on TV.

Please feel free and encourage to tell me in detail what you did or did not like about this story.


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